


When Lightning Strikes

by Central_City_Citizen (911BucksGirl)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Barry and Iris are endgame in series, Break Up, Brother-Sister Relationships, Cisco and Grace are only together until episode 12 of season 1, F/M, Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Metahumans, Original Character(s), POV Original Character, Post-Break Up, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team as Family, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:21:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 179,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21953782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/911BucksGirl/pseuds/Central_City_Citizen
Summary: Barry and Grace Allen's lives have not been the same since their mother was killed and their father was convicted of her murder. Now, 15 years later and they have found a family in their foster family, the Wests.Present-day, Barry, and Grace are the best of friends. Barry's in love with his best friend, Iris and Grace has the worst luck with men, but that's all about to change. Can she find someone who will love her despite her brain, her beauty or the fact that her father's a convicted killer?The Particle Accelerator is the biggest and most exciting news to happen to Central City, but no one expected it to bring the tragedy that had happened. From the explosion, people died, and it injured others, including siblings, Barry and Grace. They both wake up from their comas discovering they have meta-human abilities that they've only read about in comic books. Can they adjust and become the heroes that their City needs?
Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West, Cisco Ramon/Grace Allen (Briefly), Cisco Ramon/Original Female Character(s), Eddie Thawne/Iris West, Original Female Character & Original Male Character
Comments: 12
Kudos: 19





	1. The Particle Accelerator

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/159126548@N03/50725888727/in/dateposted-public/)

**Chapter 1: The Particle Accelerator**

**-9 Months Ago…**

**-December 11, 2013...**

Grace Allen placed the black-and-white image into the water and then she hung it on the line inside of her darkroom. She felt the buzz in her back pocket alerting her to a phone call. She walked out of the darkroom quickly and then closed the door. She pulled her phone from her pocket and She answered, “Hey, if isn’t my favorite brother.”

He laughed. “I’m your only brother, Kiddo.”

“True. Which is why you’re my favorite. What’s up?”

He chuckled. “Good to know. You still coming?”

“Yep. I will meet you and Iris there before Dr. Wells makes his speech.”

“Good. Can’t wait to see you, Kiddo.”

“Me too. Love you.”

“Love you,” he said and hung up. She glanced at her watch and swore to herself. She quickly gathered up her camera and her supplies, high-tailing it out the door. From her apartment, the local coffee shop was only a block away so she just walked. She smiled at Iris when she walked into the Jitters.

She and Iris were like sisters. They had been friends through Grace’s brother, Barry’s friendship with her, but over the almost decade and half that she and her brother had been living with Iris and her dad, Joe they’d become her family. Iris becoming like a big sister to her.

“Hey, Gracie, what can I get you?”

“Um….pumpkin spice cappuccino, please?”

“Coming right up.” She walked around the counter and started making the cappuccino.

Grace approached the counter. Iris looked over her shoulder at Barry’s little sister. She actually looked a little sad. “Are you okay?”

She shrugged. Truthfully, she wasn’t really sure anymore. She was lonely, she knew that much. “I’m lonely,” she told her. She exhaled. “I just want to finally have the one, you know? I mean, by the time mom was my age she was with daddy...”

Iris knew what she was feeling because she’d been feeling it too. “I know, Gracie.” She walked around the counter and took her hand. “But, Sweetheart, there is a guy out there somewhere that will accept you for you and you know it.”

“Right,” she muttered. She highly doubted that she’d ever find a guy that would be absolutely okay with the fact that she was smarter than the average female. She sighed. She wanted it to happen now, not later. “I know.” She looked at her watch and sighed. “I gotta go. I have a job interview.”

Iris smiled. “Good luck and you gotta tell me about it when you meet up with us.”

She nodded. “You know I will.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and headed out as she looked at the address for the interview. Before she could look up or anything, she felt herself literally bump into someone. She stumbled, dropping her phone and her camera bag. Keeping a hold of her cup, she looked up and her heart literally skipped a beat.

Cisco Ramon looked at the person he had bumped into. She was absolutely stunning. Brown hair and big light blue eyes. An amazing mouth and a body to match. When her eyes met his he felt a tightening low in his gut.

He was cute. He was shorter than her. Maybe about a half an inch and to an inch, with black hair that went to his shoulders and dark eyes. He wore a S.T.A.R. Labs hoodie and held a cell phone in his hand. She sighed. “Sorry about that.”

He smiled and she literally thought her heart would beat out of her chest at rapid speed. “Don’t be. I think it was my fault.”

She put her coffee on a nearby table and crouched down to pick up her stuff. As she did, the guy joined her. He started gathering the papers and other things that slid out of her bag. “Thank you,” she said taking the papers from him. She looked around to make sure she got everything.

His entire body was warm and his heart was thudding against his chest like a bass drum. He held out a hand to her and she gladly took the assistance as they stood.

When they hands touched there seemed to be this instant heat that passed between them. By the sudden shift in her gaze he knew she felt it too. “My name’s Cisco……Cisco Ramon.”

She smiled. She liked the sound of it in her head. “Hi, Cisco. I’m Grace Allen.”

“That’s a pretty name,” he murmured.

“Thank you. My mom thought so.”

He smiled and they departed. She went out of the shop and he went to the counter.

From her spot in the store, Iris watched the exchanged between Grace and the dark haired guy. She smiled. There was an immediate attraction between the two of them. It was even felt from where she stood. She watched until Grace rushed out the door and the dark haired guy walked to the counter. She smiled. “What can I get you?”

“I need four of them.” It was ridiculous to feel this way about someone he barely even met, but he could still feel her. Was that strange?

“Sir?” Iris asked, with a small smile.

Coming back to reality he looked at her. “Sorry about that.” He sighed and ordered his first. Then, Ronnie’s, Caitlin’s and Dr. Wells.

Iris stood with her back to the man as she contemplated what she was about to do. Grace needed a guy that looked at her the way that this guy did in the few seconds that they had met. She bit her lip and then threw caution to the wind. She knew for sure her sister would be mad at her, but she had to do this for them. She pulled a napkin from the dispenser and quickly jotted a number down. She turned and slid his coffee and the napkin to him.

“Wha….?”

She smiled. “The girl you were talking to. She’s a friend.” She nodded to the napkin. “That’s her phone number.”

His heart literally skipped a beat before it raced. “Really?” She nodded. He smiled and thanked her, “But knowing my luck with women she’s probably got someone and doesn’t need some awkward mechanical engineer scientist phone stalking her.”

She laughed softly and capped the other drinks. She recited what the orders were and then took the money. She gave him his change and then smiled at him. “Can I let you in on a secret?”

“Uh….sure?”

“Now, I’m only telling you this because I see that you work at S.T.A.R. Labs and I believe you’d understand her better than anyone. However, you hurt her and I will kill you myself.”

He scoffed out a laugh. “Okay.”

“She’s had really bad luck with guys, so if you’re not serious about this from the jump don’t even call her.”

He nodded. “Noted. Thank you.”

* * *

Cisco got back to S.T.A.R Labs and handed out the coffees to everyone. He took his and sat down. He began pounding at the keys, but he couldn’t seem to get her out of his head enough to concentrate on what he was doing. He had to do the finishing touches on the Particle Accelerator before it went online tonight. He pulled out the napkin from his pocket and looked at it. What harm would it do to at least text her?

“Hey, Cisco, whatcha got?”

He looked up at Ronnie and shrugged. He threw the napkin on the desk and sighed. Ronnie looked at the number and then his friend. “Who is she?”

“A very beautiful brunette with these blue eyes that….” He shook his head. “Guys like me are never that lucky.” He sighed and told them everything. “Sounds like her friend’s--”

“Concerned for her feelings,” Caitlin interjected. “Cisco, sounds likes her friend doesn’t want to see her get hurt again.”

He shrugged. Ronnie smiled. “Cisco, give it a shot. You never know a year from now you may be thanking me in an engagement toast or something.”

He laughed. “Right. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Besides as I said guys like me are never that lucky to get a girl like her.”

Ronnie tapped his shoulder and picked up the number. “Text her. At least that way if she turns you down then you didn’t really lose out or anything.”

Cisco sighed and pulled his phone out. He put her number into his phone and then shot her a text.

* * *

Grace almost came out of the building skipping she was so excited. She got the job. She was now the photo-graphics editor for the Central City Picture News. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and shot a group text to Barry, Joe and Iris telling them: **I GOT THE JOB!!!!! YOU ARE NOW TEXTING THE NEW PHOTO-GRAPHICS EDITOR OF THE PICTURE NEWS!!!**

She would have done the same for Josh, but he wasn’t too thrilled when she had told him she had sent in her resume and got a call back. So, she decided to keep it to the small circle she knew would be happy for her. She smiled when hugely when the first text was from her brother.

**[From Barry]: Oh, Gracie, that’s great! Congratulations! I’m SO proud of you.**

**[To Barry]: Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.**

**[From Barry]: Yes, you could. You’re an Allen. We can do anything, Kiddo. Gotta go give results to Singh. We have to celebrate. Your pick.**

Her smile widened even more when she got a text from Joe next. **[From Joe]: That’s so great, Sweetheart! I’m so proud of you! And so would your dad. We have to celebrate.**

Her heart thudded and her eyes pricked with tears. Her dad. God….she hadn’t thought of him. Dr. Henry Allen was currently up at Iron Heights serving a life sentence for what she and her brother believed was for a crime he hadn’t committed. He didn’t kill their mother, Nora that night 14 years before.

Her phone vibrated again with another text message. She smiled when she seen Iris’ message: **YAY! We are SO celebrating. You pick. I’ll get Barry and dad.**

She laughed. Then her phone vibrated again with another message.

**[From Unknown]: Hey, Grace. It’s Cisco, the dork from the coffee place?**

She smiled when she read the message. She quickly put the number into her phone. **[To Cisco]: I don’t remember meeting a dork, but I do remember meeting a very cute guy. Curious….how’d you’d get my number? We hadn’t gotten there yet.**

**[From Cisco]: Your friend, Iris at the coffeehouse.**

She laughed and stopped and moved off the sidewalk and stood at the edge of the park. Leave it to Iris to do something like that. **[To Cisco]: You must have made quite an impression on her.**

**[Cisco]: Why do you say that?**

**[To Cisco]: Because Iris usually doesn’t give out my number to anyone. She and my brother are way too protective for that.**

**[From Cisco]: *shrugs* Don’t know how. We didn’t really talk all that much.**

On a whim, Grace glanced at the time on the phone and then texted: **[To Cisco]: Wanna meet up for lunch? I got some really great news and thought that maybe I’d celebrate with an ice cream sundae.**

* * *

Cisco sighed. He looked at Ronnie and Caitlin then Dr. Wells. He rolled his chair to his friends. “Do you think Wells would have a coronary if I asked to take lunch right now?”

Caitlin glanced at her watch and then looked at Cisco. “Why?”

“Apparently, Grace—that’s the girl at the coffee place—wants to meet and have ice cream sundaes.”

Caitlin’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

“Because she got some really good news and wants to celebrate.”

“With ice cream sundaes? What is she twelve?” Caitlin shot out sarcastically.

He laughed. “Trust me, she didn’t look like she was twelve.”

Ronnie looked over his shoulder at Dr. Wells and then looked at Cisco. “Do you think you could suggest doing it later?”

Cisco sighed and typed a message back to her.

Grace read the message: **[To Grace]: Can we meet later?**

She smiled and typed: **[To Cisco]: I don’t think so. I figured if we meet now then you could be back to S.T.A.R. Labs by the time that you need to be before the Particle Accelerator goes online.**

He smiled and showed Ronnie. He smirked and looked at him. “Well, she’s observant.” He exhaled and looked at Wells again and then looked back at him. “Go. I’ll cover for you.”

“Ronnie!”

Ronnie shook his head. “It’s okay, Cait. Trust me.” He kissed her hair. He looked at Cisco. “Go. Get a date this time.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Ronnie. I owe you one.” He quickly grabbed his coat and rushed out the door. He texted Grace: **On my way. Where do you wanna meet?**

She smiled and texted back: **The park. 15 minutes.**

She walked across the street and walked into her building. She jogged up the steps and walked into her apartment. She put her stuff down on the couch and rushed into her room. She played with her hair and checked her makeup before rushing back out again.

She got to Central City Plaza Park in enough time to seem like she was waiting for a couple of minutes when Cisco showed up. She smiled, hands in her pockets. “Hi.”

His heart hammered in his chest as he looked at her. “Hi. I thought you would have politely told me about your boyfriend or something.”

She smiled at him. “Why would I do that?”

He shrugged. “Because that’s usually my luck with girls like you.”

“Girls like me?” she asked, looping her arm through his and headed for the ice cream shop.

“From my experience girls who are hot and beautiful usually don’t go for the awkwardly geeky guy.”

She laughed softly. “Normally your assessment of the average woman would be correct, Mr. Ramon, but I’m not your average girl.” She smirked at him. “And you haven’t met my brother.”

He chuckled. “Oh, yeah?” He pulled the door to the shop open and she walked in and he right after.

She nodded as they approached the line. “He’s a forensic scientist at the CCPD. And he’s been into highly geeky stuff since I can remember.” She leaned into him. “Besides, I’ve always found highly geeky guys amazingly hot.”

He gaped at her. “Seriously?”

She nodded. “Oh, yeah.” She shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure why.” She smiled at the girl at the counter. “Hey, Rachel, can I get 2 medium hot fudge sundaes, please?”

“Absolutely.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

“Come here a lot, huh?”

She laughed. “My mom and dad knew the owners. We used to come here to celebrate something big in our lives.” She looked into his eyes. “Barry’s always made sure even though dad’s not around and mom’s gone that we kept some of our traditions alive.”

“That’s cool.” He thanked the girl behind the counter and handed her a $10. “Keep the change.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

They took a seat at the window and each took a couple of bites of the ice cream before Cisco broke the silence. “So, what happened to your parents?”

She winced. This was usually where she lost her dates if she didn’t lose them with the fact that she had a geeky older brother. “Isn’t dishing family details like a fourth date thing?”

He laughed. He shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t usually get past the second.”

She stopped and gaped at him. “Really?”

He nodded. “Usually by then I go all geek on them and lose them totally.”

She smiled. “Well, don’t worry about me with the geek thing. My brother spent his weekends doing science projects in our foster father’s garage.” She cleared her throat. “My mom was murdered when I was nine years old.”

“Oh, God…!” he exclaimed in a hushed voiced. “That sucks. Did they ever find the guy?”

“They think they did, but my brother and I don’t believe he did it.”

“Who is it?”

“My dad.”

His mouth fell open. “Your dad is in prison for killing your mom?”

She felt the ache in her chest at the look. She was really starting to like this guy too. “Yep.” She stabbed her ice cream and waited for the quick exit, but when it didn’t come she just stared up at him. “You’re not going to run?”

“Why would I?”

She shrugged. “That’s usually when I lose my other dates. Mention your father’s a convicted killer and they run for the hills.”

He smiled and said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She smiled. He smiled back. They sat there staring at each other for a good couple of minutes before he asked, “What’s your big news?”

“I got my dream job today!”

His smile widened and her heart and stomach both flip-flopped. “That’s great, Grace!”

She couldn’t help the smile. He actually sounded genuine with the response. “Thank you. You’re looking at the new photo-graphics editor for the Central City Picture News.”

“Wow….that’s amazing,” he said, surprised.

“Thank you. So, what do you do at S.T.A.R. Labs? Or are you not supposed to talk about it?”

He shook his head. “No, it’s cool. Um…a mechanical engineer.”

She nodded. “That’s cool. So, are you excited for tonight?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I am. I’ve spent over a year on this thing with my team. I think we’ll be all relieved when it finally goes online.”

She nodded. “I could see that.” She smiled. “Well, I’ll be there. With my brother and Iris.” Not wanting to be too forward or anything, she said, “Maybe we could hang out afterwards.”

He nodded. “I’d like that, but I’ll probably be too excited to stop celebrating.”

She laughed. “I’ll take my chances.” She looked at her watch and smiled. “I’d really hate to eat and run, but uh….I promised Iris I’d meet up with her.”

He looked at his own watch. “Oh! I gotta get going too.” He smiled. “Can I call you?”

he nodded as she slid out of her seat. “You better.” She smirked at him. She closed the gap as he stood and pressed her lips lightly to his cheek.

* * *

Ronnie Raymond smiled when he seen Cisco walking into the lab smiling from ear to ear. “Hey, Romeo. How’d it go?”

Cisco sighed. “It went great,” he said. “She’s amazing, Ronnie. Like _really, really_ amazing.”

Ronnie smiled. “Good. By the way, Wells knows where you were.”

“Oh, great. How much trouble am I in?”

“None,” Wells said from behind him.

He whirled quickly to face him. “Dr. Wells, uh—”

“No, Cisco. It was your lunch hour. You are allowed to spend it with whomever you wanted.” He smiled. “How’d it go?”

He nodded. “Really good. Never had hot fudge sundaes for lunch, but if later tonight goes as good as lunch ended then I may spend more lunches having sundaes.”

Wells smiled. “May I give you a suggestion?”

“Sure,” he said a little cautiously. “Start out slowly first. I know that your generation probably doesn’t do that anymore, but my wife and I did and we became best friends long before we even dated.”

He nodded. “Good to know. I’ll definitely try that.”

“What’s with the sundae thing anyway?” Caitlin asked.

He smirked, remembering the way she had talked about it. “Her parents used to do it for huge things that her and her older brother accomplished. They’d go out to get hot fudge sundaes and celebrate.” He smiled. “Her brother kept up the tradition after their parents….”

“That’s cool,” Ronnie said. “I wish my parents would have done cool stuff like that.”

Cisco sighed and took his jacket off. “Alright. Getting back to work. I have a lot of work to do.” He waved and went back to his desk, he sat.

* * *

Barry Allen put the sample into the machine and pressed start. As he started for his street map board, he pulled his plastic glove off.

“Okay, I am ready to see this atom smasher smashing,” Iris announced as she entered Barry’s lab.

“There was a shooting today. Your dad needs me to process some evidence, which means I don't know if we're going to be able to make it to S.T.A.R. Labs.”

“But seeing this thing turn on is like your dream. Your sad, little nerdy dream. Besides, I canceled a date for this and your sister is waiting for us.” She picked up a fry and bite into it.

Barry saw it and snatched his fries. “Hands off my fries. Unbelievable. You’re worse that Grace.”

“I'm stress eating over my dissertation. We started selling cronuts at Jitters. I ate two today. If I don't graduate soon, I'm gonna be more muffin top than woman.”

Barry gave her a once over. “You look amazing.”

She rolled her eyes and scoffed, tossing down the rest of the fry. “What is so important about this particle accelerator anyway?”

“Harrison Wells' work in quantum theory is light-years ahead of anything they're doing at Cern.”

“You're doing that thing where you're not speaking English.”

He exhaled softly. “Sometimes I wish Gracie could travel with you and be my translator.”

“Sometimes so do I, but since she’s not tell me.”

“Okay.” He walked over to his see through board and took a dry erase marker. He made a dot. “Just imagine that that dot is everything the human race has ever learned until this moment.”

“Does that include "twerking"?” she tossed in.

He drew a big circle around it. “That is everything we could learn from the particle accelerator. It's a whole new way of looking at physics. It will literally change the way that we think about everything.”

“You got to get yourself a girlfriend.”

“Hey, leave him alone,” Joe said as he walked into the lab. “He's working.”

“Hi, dad.” The machine started beeping. “Your test thingy is done,” Iris told him.

“Yeah.” He looked at the results. “I think the Mardon Brothers are hiding on a farm. The fecal matter I found on the street, it was cow manure, which contained traces of oxytetracycline. It's an antibiotic. There are only four farms in the area that still use it in their feed. Bet you find a really sweet Shelby parked at one of them.”

Joe looked at the printout Barry handed him.

Iris stood and put a hand on her dad’s shoulder. “Dad, seeing as how Barry solved your poop problem, how about letting him go to S.T.A.R. Labs?”

“Fine, go.”

“Yes!”

“Thank you, Joe.”

* * *

“So, Barry, how was your trip? Did you find proof of the impossible in Starling City, or did you just make my dad mad for no reason?”

“Actually, while I was away, I had a chance to think about... You know, relationships. And, well, I'm not in one. And you're not in one, either. And you're my best friend, Iris.”

They looked at each other. “You're mine too. Why else would I be here? That's not what I meant. What I... I know what you're gonna say, Barry.”

“I'm not sure you do.”

“Even though we pretty much grew up in the same house together, and we're kind of like brother and sister, because we're not brother and sister, it can get really weird and awkward to talk to me about girls. But I just want you to know that it shouldn't be awkward. There is nothing that I want more than for you to meet the right person that totally loves and adores you for the amazing guy that you are.”

He chuckled awkwardly. “Took the words right out of my mouth.”

“Aw, aren't you glad I know you so well?”

“BARRY! IRIS!”

Barry smiled when he seen his sister waving them over. Iris followed as they zig-zagged through the crowd. Grace hugged them both. Iris leaned into him. “Is he up there?”

Grace shook her head. “No.”

“Aww. Bummer. Thought I could show your brother.”

She laughed. “I’ll take a picture of him for you and let you see okay?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Thank you. My name is Harrison Wells. Tonight, the future begins. The work my team and I will do here will change our understanding of physics. We'll bring about advancements in power, advancements in medicine, and trust me, that future will be here faster than you think.”

Grace’s phone rang and she looked at the caller ID. She smiled. “I’ll be back.” She answered as she walked away, “Hey, Handsome.”

“Hey. You here?”

“Yeah. I’m right outside—Oh, crap!”

“What’s wrong?”

“My friend’s bag was just stolen. Don’t worry about it. Barry’s on the case,” she said dismissively. “So, you nervous?”

“Hell yeah.” He winced. “Sorry.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind.” She smirked. “I thought you would be.”

“How’d you know?”

“Because you’re a lot like my brother that way,” she told him. “He was always so nervous before a presentation that he worked himself up once to the point that he threw up.”

“Oh, gross. Thanks a lot, Tor.”

She laughed. “You’re adorable.”

“You gonna stick around until afterwards?”

“Yep, I’ll be here.”

“Cool. Meet you out front?”

“Sounds good. See you later.”

“See you later,” Cisco said.

* * *

Grace had said goodbye to her brother and Iris a while ago and she still stood outside waiting for Cisco when she heard a very strange boom sound amongst the chanters of protests. She turned to the building and saw the plume of light and shielded her eyes and she tried to turn and run, but people were in the way and she pushed past a few and then couldn’t move anymore so she did what her human instincts told her and crouched and screamed as some kind of weird wave swept through her.

Then everything went black.

* * *

**-A Few Hours Later….**

The entire town seemed to be in utter chaos.

Joe and Iris awaited information on Barry when a nurse approached him. “Detective West?”

“Yes?”

“Do you know a Grace Allen?”

He nodded and his heart stopped beating. “Oh, God….Grace….?”

“Sir, come with me, please?”

He looked at Iris and she nodded. “Go. I’ll stay here. Check on Grace, dad.”

He walked down the hall and listened as she said, “Your daughter….?”

“It’s fine, go ahead.”

“Your daughter seemed to have been struck by the blast from the explosion.”

His knees buckled and he almost collapsed. “Oh, God….no!”

The nurse turned to him. “Detective, she’s fine. She’s a fighter, but she’s in a coma.”

He exhaled. “Do we know if she’ll come out of it?”

“We’re not one-hundred percent, but she should.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” He walked into her room and his heart stopped. He loved this girl as if she was his own daughter. He walked to her bed. “Oh, Baby….” He bent forward and kissed her forehead. “Come back to me, okay?”

* * *

He knew it was probably one of the worse ideas that he had ever had in the world, especially after what had happened, but he knew he had to see for himself if she was okay. He stopped at nurse’s station and smiled politely at the nurse. “Excuse me could you tell me what room Grace Allen is in?”

“Are you family?”

“Well, no. Um….I’m a friend.”

Iris heard the name and walked up to the guy. “Cisco?”

He turned and smiled sympathetically at her. “Hey, Iris. How is she?”

She smiled. She knew that Grace would want to see her. The lights flickered again and she sighed. “Ever since the explosion it’s been doing that.”

“I’m sorry.”

Iris shook her head. “Don’t apologize for it. It was an accident.” She walked into the room where Grace lay and smiled at her father. “Dad, this is Cisco. He’s a friend of Grace’s.”

Joe shook his hand. “Hi.”

Cisco could feel a weird vibe between the 2 of them. Something intense was going on. “Hi, Mr. West. How is she? Will she…?”

He shook his head. “No. The doctors think she’ll wake up soon, so that’s an improvement. He looked at Cisco. “Now if only her brother would wake up and they’d stop the electricity flickering and see if they could help Barry.”

“I’m so sorry, Mr. West.”

He shook his head. “No, Cisco. It’s all right. Would you like a few minutes alone?”

“Would you mind?”

He shook his head. “No. Iris and I’ll get coffee.”

He smiled. He waited for them to leave and then turned back to her. “Oh, Grace, Baby, I am so sorry for this.” He caressed her cheek and then kissed her forehead. “Please, wake up.”

A few minutes later, Joe and Iris returned and Cisco kissed her hand. He said his goodbyes to the Wests and then started walking out.

“Cisco….” Came a muttered voice.

Iris and Joe rushed to her. “Gracie?!”

She winced. “Shh…” she whispered. She could hear the wild beeping from the life monitor. “Dad….turn that down.”

Joe laughed softly. “I can’t, baby. It’s letting us know you’re alive.”

“Shh….” She whispered again. Why was everyone’s sounding like they were screaming at her. “Cisco?” she said softly.

Iris waved him over and he walked to her other side. “Yeah?”

“You came,” she said softly.

He laughed softly. “Of course, I did. What else would I have done?”

“Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m not hurt,” he told her. “A friend of mine died, but I’m okay.”

She exhaled. “Sorry about your friend.”

“It’s okay.”

She looked around “Where’s Barry?” She saw something shift in Joe and Iris’ eyes. Her heart thundered in her chest. “Oh, God….no!”

Joe held her hand, which held her on the bed. “He wasn’t there. He got struck by lightning, Sweetheart.”

“Oh, God….will-will he be okay?”

“We don’t know,” Iris told her. The lights flickered again and Iris groaned. “Damn it. Why can’t they get that under control?”

* * *

**-Two Weeks Later…..**

Grace walked into her apartment and tossed her keys on the table at the door. It felt nice to be home but hadn’t stopped thinking about her brother. A few hours after she had woken up Dr. Wells, a Dr. Caitlin Snow and Cisco showed and offered to take Barry with them until he gets better. After a family meeting they agreed and let Barry be taken to S.T.A.R. Labs. Now, she was out and despite seeing Cisco every day and hanging out with him for a couple of hours, she figured she wouldn’t see him again. Who’d want to be reminded of the accident?

She stepped back and let Iris in after her. She exhaled deeply. Iris watched as she slowly came to a stop at the couch. “Maybe we should go to the house.”

Grace shook her head. “I wanna sleep in my bed.” She sat down.

She walked over and sat down next to her. “You okay?”

“Do you think Cisco will ever want to see me again or do you think it was just because he felt guilty or something?”

Iris looked at her and knew she could lie, but she decided to evade. “I don’t know, Grace. Really I don’t.”

She looked at her. For the last 2 weeks the strangest things have been happening to her. First she didn’t seem to have a body temperature and when she did it wasn’t to the doctor’s satisfaction. Then this, she seemed to be able to hear EVERYTHING. And if Iris’ heartbeat was indication, she was lying to make her feel better. She sighed. “That’s what I thought.” She sat up and rubbed her face with her hands. “I knew it was all too good to be true.”

“Grace, I didn’t—”

“We’ve known each other all my life, Iris. I know when you lie.”

Iris sighed. “I was trying to not hurt your feelings.”

She shook her head. “It’s cool. I figured as much.” She sighed. “The two weeks with him in the hospital with me was amazing. I should have figured it was too good to be true.”

“Oh, Gracie, don’t say that. You still got tonight.”

She nodded. “Do you think I still have my job at the paper?”

She smiled. “I know you do. The owner of the paper came to tell me and dad that when you woke up you could have your job.”

She exhaled. “Thank God.”

_Knock-Knock! Knock-Knock!_

Iris smiled at her. “It’s probably dad.”

Grace stood slowly and walked to the door. She hoped it was Cisco on the other end. She opened the door and her heart shattered when it was Joe. She smiled. “Hey, Joe.”

Joe saw the sad look on her face and winced. “Not who you expected?”

“Hoped,” she clarified. She shook her head. “It’s okay.” She kissed his cheek and pulled him into her apartment. She wrapped her arms around his torso and held on. He kissed the top of her head.

_Guess it was never to be…._

* * *

That morning, Grace awoke to the sound of someone knocking at the door. She groaned and looked at the time on her phone. 7:15am. Who in the world would come to see her? She pulled her hand through her dark hair and grabbed her robe. She tied it as she walked to the door. She pulled it open and her heart literally stopped beating. “Cisco?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Sorry, I couldn’t be here yesterday. We had to do a lot of stuff with the after of the explosion.”

She nodded. “It’s okay.” She stepped aside and he walked in. She saw the sacks. “What’s all that?”

“Breakfast and movies.” He exhaled. “I don’t have a job to go back to right now and I thought with you still in recovery we could hang out, enjoy ourselves and get to know each other.”

She smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”

He smiled. Maybe taking things slow wouldn’t be so bad after all.


	2. Team Flash, Part 1

**-Present Day….**

Dr. Harrison Wells wheeled into his secret computerized room. He stood up and looked at the wall. “Gideon, show me all articles on Grace Allen.”

“ _Showing all articles on Grace Allen_.”

He looked at one in particular and pulled it up. He read the headline: _Gaia at S.T.A.R. Labs in Coma_.

In first part of the article it read: _Central City’s very own Gaia is currently in a coma after taking on a speedster her brother, the Flash, was able to take out years before. There’s no word from her husband or family whether she’ll wake up at all……_

The future was still intact. “Perfect.”

* * *

Grace jerked awake as her alarm screamed. She moaned and leaned over and slapped it off. She sighed and stared up at the ceiling. She had the morning shift to sit with Barry this morning before she headed into work. Since she and Cisco had discovered her powers she had she had been going to the Lab to be tested and observed with her powers. It was discovered she can control all of the Earth’s elements. Earth, Fire, Air and Water…. all of them. It was the strangest thing. But it would explain a lot of what had happened when she was in the hospital. The extremely high body temperature, the weirdly exploding television. The slight earthquake that had happened when she thumped her fist on the wall in frustration over Barry. All of them. She was beginning to get used to them, but it was still difficult.

Within that time, she and Cisco had become really close. They’d been together since February of this year. They were as Caitlin said ‘inseparable’. She couldn’t help it. She enjoyed his company. He was really funny and had some crazy whacked out theories for movies. She had never met someone who enjoyed to listen to her talk about her photography and her scientific interests. He actually listening to her talk and for the last few months he’s been asking her opinion on his projects with S.T.A.R. Labs.

He was such an amazing boyfriend—they had decided about 7 months ago (February) that they wanted to be official and title their relationship. There was the way he looked at her or the way he touched her—with those things she knew that she meant _**something**_ to him. And he had proved it to her by confessing his love to her the night that they had decided to label themselves within their relationship and she immediately told him the same. They’ve been happily together ever since.

The only thing she didn’t like was that unfortunately he couldn’t come home with her or she with him because he usually had the night shift with her brother. She wanted to spend the night with him and make love with him. And the sex with him was _**incredible!**_ At first with her powers she was a little leery about going for it, but he had worked with her insecurities about it and her doubts. They had actually worked up to sex and every time that they did have sex it was absolutely mind blowing. She still remembered the first time. It was toward the end of January:

_Grace and Cisco were on date number…what was it?_

_She didn’t fucking know. All she really knew is she wanted the man naked and on top of her. They’d just spent the evening in a restaurant, talking and flirting until the restaurant employees kicked them out. And on the taxi ride home, they’d made out the entire ride to her place. Grace put the key in the lock and unlocked the door. She looked up at Cisco and almost panted out, “Please tell me you’re staying?”_

_Cisco looked down into her mesmerizing baby blues and nodded. “Wild dogs couldn’t drag me away.”_

“ _Oh, thank God….” She said and fisted her hand into his shirt and pulled him inside._

_Cisco pushed the door shut as he s_ _tumbled_ _inside. He righted himself and then claimed her mouth in a hungry kiss. Moments later, they were both panting and peeling off their jackets. He looked into her eyes again, seeing the darkening irises as passion seemed to have taken over. “Are we really going to do this?”_

“ _Yes!” she said, probably a little too enthusiastically as she pulled her heels off._

_He laughed softly, toeing his own shoes off and then pulling off his blazer and dropped it on the floor. He pulled her to him and deepened the kiss. He wrapped one hand, fingers and all into the mass of curls as he pulled her closer. He brushed his tongue across her bottom lip to get her to open her mouth. She sighed and he swept his tongue inside. God, this girl was going to be the death of him._

_She moved her hands to his chest and tried to feel his heat, that amazing chest she’d felt while they slept or made out and whimpered when she just felt his dress shirt. She had to touch him. She just had to. She had to feel him. She moved to his waistband of his slacks and rolled his shirt up to touch his skin. She grunted when her fingertips brushed his abs and she felt his heat. Feeling her touching him sent him to the brink. “Take that damn thing off,” she commanded._

“ _You too,” he grunted as he began unbuttoning his shirt._

_She turned with her back to him and asked, “Unzip me?”_

_He quickly jerked the zipper down and she turned, as she pushed the dress down her body. She let it pool there on the floor in the living room. He knew others would probably say they’re moving too fast but he didn’t give a shit. He’d been waiting f_ _or what felt like forever_ _to make love to her. And now he could honestly say that’s what he felt. He might not tell her that yet, but he could certainly show her._

_His cock instantly hardened at the sight of her amazing body in just a lacy red bra and lace panties. He quickly pulled the shirt off after he had unbuttoned it and threw it on the floor. She felt the shiver of desire run through her at the sight of his bare chest staring at her. She felt her fingers itching to touch, her nails itching to scratch._

_Still in his dress pants, he came to her instantly, lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he claimed her mouth, and carefully, but deliberately walked to her bedroom, knowing her apartment like he knew his own. They walked to the bed and he fell onto the bed, breaking the kiss for only s_ _econds_ _before reclaiming each other’s mouths._

_She had never felt the urge to seduce someone before, but with Cisco he made it so easy. He made her want to do these things. To make him feel desired and wanted. She quickly rolled him onto his back and then gave him a quick drugging kiss. She moved off of him by moving down his body, unbuckling his pants as she moved downward. He blindly lifted his hips and she pulled the pants off, along with his underwear and threw them on the floor._

_Her stomach flipped with anticipation and excitement as she looked down at his well-proportioned cock. She felt her insides tingle, her thighs warming. She crawled up his body and kissed him again._

“ _That’s not exactly fair that I’m naked before you.”_

_She laughed softly and kissed him again. “I thought you’d have more fun stripping me.” She smiled, kissing him again, straddling him. She straightened and rocked back and forth on him. God, he couldn't think straight with her mimicking what he wanted to do to her. He felt himself get harder, which had to be a trick in itself because he was already hard enough to hammer nails. "Gracie...." he groaned._

“ _I love it when you call me that,” she whispered, grinding her hips into him._

_"Oh, fuck...." he grunted as he rolled his head back._

_She smiled as she felt his extremely hard erection bob between them. God, how she wanted him. She gasped when she felt his cock shift slightly against her heat as she sat up to take her bra off. He looked up to watch her for a moment, his eyes already blurry with desire as he watched her flick her bra off to reveal her perfect breasts._

_She felt that feeling in the pit of her stomach again as she leaned forward, that heat that was like a mound of molten lava beginning to explode. She bent her head down and took his mouth in one hot, wanton moment. He rolled her on to her back and deepened the kiss, molding her into the mattress. She pressed her body into his, she had to feel him against her....badly. It was almost as strong as breathing. Which she seemed to have stopped at some point during this little seductions. To which she lost control of._

_He broke the kiss and almost came unglued when she whimpered. He began kissing down her chin, her neck. He had never wanted a woman like he wanted her, like he needed her. What in the hell was with her that he felt he needed the connection of them? He continued his blaze of hot kisses down her body and felt himself get harder and the need get stronger with each of her moans._

_She closed her eyes as she felt his lips everywhere on her body, the sweet sensations overtaking her. "Cisco.....please....."_

_"I will," he whispered as he dipped his tongue into the dimple of her bellybutton._

_She gasped with need at the feel of his hot, wet tongue on her skin. "Shit...." she felt the warm heat between her legs and almost sighed. He wasn't even inside of her and all they were doing was kissing and touching and she was almost there. She felt his tongue dip again and she almost lost it. "Cisco!"_

_"I'm right here," he whispered as he gently tugged her panties off._

_"I want you inside of me, please...." she whined. "Seduce me later."_

_He laughed softly as he came back to look down at her. Her face was flushed with passion and she looked amazing. He dipped his head down to take one of her very hard and erect nipples into his mouth._

_"Oh, God...." she cried out as she felt the heat of his mouth on her skin, suckling her nipple into submission. He moved to her other one and she was lost. There was no way she could be even more turned on than this moment. She could feel the familiar ball of warmth that formed in her belly, which was a definite indication that she was very much almost there. "Baby, please...."_

_He stopped the mouth assault on her breasts and leaned back on his feet as he positioned himself between her legs. He spread her apart and smiled when he seen her glistening with need for him. He caressed her with a couple of swift touches of his fingers against her inner thigh, close to her heat._

_Her orgasm was instant, and earth shattering. Was it possible for someone to implode from an orgasm? Because if not she had just become a medical study. Trying desperately to find a coherent thought to say something to him, she just panted, She couldn’t find one._

_He slowly dipped his finger inside of her._

_"Holy fuck!" she said as she felt the first aftershock beginning when he slipped his finger inside of her. "How do you do that?" she asked, not really expecting an answer._

_Finding her center, he curled his finger and flicked. She fisted her hands into her blankets and cried out, which was actually more of a scream. She bowed as she felt the sensational pleasure of his finger playing with her g-spot._

_Watching her had to be the most erotic thing he had ever witnessed in his life. He was absolutely sure his balls were now blue with holding back. He knew he couldn't do much more of that or he was for sure going to break something. He smiled satisfyingly as another, much larger orgasm overtook her and she screamed again. He slowed the flicking as she came down from the orgasm._

_"Oh....my....God....." she panted._

_Without giving her time to come completely down from her orgasm he slammed hard into her and she gasped. Fire bolts of desire raging through her as white light shot through the back of her eyes. She couldn't remember ever feeling something so right as the feel of him filling her, stretching her. She groaned with satisfaction._

_He waited only for a few minutes before he started moving, first slowly and then faster. "Damn," he whispered into her hair. He couldn't have stopped now if he wanted to._

_He pushed deeper into her and laid forward. His hips pistoned deeper and deeper into her until he was for sure soul to soul. Hearing her small gasps, groans and little whimpers kept pushing him into an erotic rhythm that was just their own._

_She wrapped her arms tightly around him as she felt his movements urged her higher and higher. With each thrust of his body, she responded with both a thrust of her own and a tremor. “Oh, God…Cisco. That feels…” she moaned as they moved in tandem, “…amazing…”_

_He deepened his thrust and went harder. In that moment all that was heard was grunts, pants, erotic screams, the thumping of her bed hitting the wall and the erotic sound of their bodies coming together repeatedly. Moments later, she felt her entire body tighten as a full body orgasm took her. She screamed his name as she felt him stiffen, grunt and felt the glorious feeling of him releasing inside of her. After completely draining inside of her, he collapsed into her stomach and let himself come down from his own euphoria._

_After a few minutes, he rolled off of her and stared up at the ceiling. After a few moments of silent breathing, he said, “That was incredible.”_

“ _Amazing,” she breathed. She rolled onto her side and curled in closer. “It’s never been like that before,” she whispered into the moonlit room._

“ _For me either,” he admitted as he ran his fingers through her dark hair. “You were definitely the first one I’ve done commando with.”_

_She smiled into his chest. “Me too. Guess it’s a good thing I’m on birth control.” She kissed his chest. “Stay the night?”_

_Kissed her hair. “Planned on it, Beautiful.”_

_They moved up the bed to get under the covers. Once they were under the covers, he pulled her to him and held her. “I might wake you up later to do it again.”_

_She laughed into his arm and said, “You better.”_

_Within moments, they were both asleep….sleeping the best they had for the past 2 months._

  
  


She pushed the covers back and walked into the bathroom, she turned to the shower and turned it on.

* * *

Caitlin walked over to her friend and smiled. “So, did you see Grace last night?”

He nodded. She smiled. “So, do you still think she’s great?”

“Even more so,” he sighed. “She’s incredible, Cait. She’s smart—and I don’t mean in the way that you’d say others were intelligent. Um….the other night I took her to the museum and I explained something in the museum to her and she understood every word.”

She laughed. “Oh, God….Ronnie was right. You do have it bad.”

He laughed. He shrugged. “But Wells was right. This was the route to go. Getting to know her has been amazing. She’s easily become my best friend.”

She looked down at her friend. There was something else there. “But….”

“I keep thinking that there was never going to be able to apologize more for that, no way I’d have another chance with her. I mean, why would she want to be forever reminded of the accident that put her brother like that and put her in a coma for a few days and kept in the hospital for two weeks.”

“The accident didn’t keep me in the hospital.”

Cisco spun in his chair and looked her up and down. She looked amazing in the simple black dress and blue blazer. Her dark hair was pulled up into a weird twisty hairstyle and she wore a little makeup. He smiled at the heels. That was something else that was different about her and the way he was with her—even wearing heels she didn’t make him feel small or short. She still treated him like her hero. Which he was still coming to terms with about how she seem to worship him in some way. “Morning, Baby.”

She smiled and walked to him, her heels clicking on the floor and kissed him passionately. “Morning, Handsome.”

Caitlin looked at her. “What do you mean that it wasn’t what kept you in the hospital?”

“Just that,” she answered. “It was my body temperature,” she explained.

“What?” Cisco asked. “That’s not what Joe and Iris—”

She shook her head and put her bag down on the floor. “Probably because the doctors weren’t telling them everything.” She sighed. “I had overheard a conversation with some of my nurses and a couple of my doctors after you had left one night,” she admitted. “And the female doctor, Dr. Nottingham, was concerned about my body temperature.”

“Why?” Caitlin asked.

“Because it was too high,” she clarified. “Apparently I was several degrees higher than she thought I should be. I heard them say that I should be dead because of how hot I was running.”

Cisco’s heart thudded hard in his chest. “Really?”

She nodded. “So, it wasn’t the accident that was keeping me in the hospital. It was me. I was keeping me in the hospital.” She exhaled. “Oh, this morning I discovered another part of my powers. Actually a few.”

“What?” Wells asked, wheeling himself into the cortex.

She looked around for a moment and then seen Caitlin’s coffee. She walked over to it and felt the coolness. She picked it up with both hands and said, “Watch.”

They knew how long Caitlin had been drinking that and knew it would be cooled down or maybe even cold. As they watched, a steady stream of steam began pluming from the rim. Caitlin walked up to her and carefully took her cup from her. She gasped in shock. “It’s warm!”

“Try it,” she said softly.

Caitlin brought it gently to her lips and jerked slightly when the hot liquid touched her lips. “Ooh!” She touched her slightly burnt lips. “It’s hot.”

Grace smiled and approached the bio-engineer. “May I?”

She nodded. Grace raised her hand and gently covered the girl’s mouth. Caitlin felt a coolness emit from Grace’s hand. She stepped back. She touched her lip. “How….when did you start running hot and cold?”

“Um….hot was about five days after the explosion. The cold I had discovered when I had overheard the medical staff talk about my temperature.”

Cisco turned his chair slightly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just...I didn’t want you to think I was some kind of a freak.”

He sighed. Not worrying about Dr. Wells or Caitlin, he stood and said as he walked to her, “I wouldn’t have thought you were some kind of freak, Grace.”

She cocked her head to the lift and studied him, her eyes narrowing slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Really?”

He nodded. “I know after what happened with Josh it’s difficult to trust someone—”

“Cisco, I trust you and I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know how to say ‘hey, I can now make things hot and cold’.” She held out a hand to him and said, “You know about the earthquakes and what I can do with air, but…..this was a little weird to me still, especially the part that I ended up making my shower really cold, like freezing cold and it never affected me. I mean, I knew it was cold, but it didn’t seem to do anything. If anything, the fire part of me made my body temperature go up and it didn’t bother me at all.” She looked into his dark eyes. “Don’t be mad or upset. I would have told you eventually...when I wrapped my mind around it that is.”

He smiled and kissed her. “I believe you.”

She sighed.

Wells nodded. “We’ll test out your abilities later. Visit with your brother.”

She smiled. “Thanks, Doc.”

“You’re welcome.” He wheeled away.

She unbuttoned her coat and slipped it off. She draped it over Cisco’s chair and her eyes landed on her brother. “Any improvement?”

Cisco shook his head. “No,” he said softly. “Sorry.”

She smiled back at him. “It’s cool,” she said almost as softly. “I have an idea,” she said and pulled a ponytail holder from her jeans pocket. She quickly threw her long hair up into a ponytail. She looked at Caitlin. “I was reading in my dad’s old medical journals that music can help bring coma patients out. Is that right?”

“There have been some studies, yes. Why?”

“And if they have a high emotional response to it then that’s good, right?”

“Um…yes?” she said not entirely sure why she was asking her this.

She smiled triumphantly. “Cool!” She then dug into her messenger bag and pulled out a mix disc. She tossed it to Cisco. “Put that in, Baby.”

“What’s on it?” He asked as he walked over to his computer.

“Mostly his favorites. Some of mine and some that I LOVE, but he _hates_.” She put her hands into her back pockets and smirked at her friends. “Perks of being a little sister. You know what will definitely get an emotional response from your big brother.”

“What doesn’t he like?” Caitlin snickered.

“Britney Spears,” she said smiling. “I LOVE Britney and I used to only put a few on repeat. Used to drive him absolutely crazy.” Her smile widened. “Was a lot of fun.”

He played the disc and the room filled with upbeat pop music. About an hour or so later, Grace excused herself to use the bathroom and exited the room. Caitlin looked at her friend. “You are aware you don’t have to be all professional with me, right?”

“What?” he asked.

She laughed. “Cisco, you’ve been itching to hold her since she walked in here. Do it. It’s not going to upset me because you’re being affectionate to your girlfriend.”

He looked at her. “Are you sure? The last thing I would want to do is upset you, Cait.”

She shook her head. “You won’t. Do it.” She smiled. Come on. Let’s do our morning checkup of Barry.”

Lady Gaga’s Pokerface filled the room.

“What are you doing?” Caitlin asked.

“He likes this song.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“Grace wouldn’t have put it on here unless he either likes it or hates it, right? And she said he can hear…I mean, he can hear everything, right?”

“Auditory functions are the last sensory faculties to degenerate.”

As they both walked away, Caitlin to run a test and Cisco to do whatever he needed to do they heard a gasp. Both of them turned to see Barry sitting up and a little disoriented.

“Oh, my God!” Cisco exclaimed.

“Where am I?” the guy asked.

“He's up,” Caitlin said simply.

Cisco turned to his phone and said into it, “Dr. Wells get down to the cortex, like, right now.”

“Pulse 120, pupils equally reactive to light. Look at me, look at me.”

Realizing he’s freaking out, Cisco tried to calm him. “Hey, hey, whoa, whoa, relax. Everything's okay, man. You're at S.T.A.R. Labs.”

“S.T.A.R. Labs? Who are you?”

“I'm Cisco Ramon. She's Caitlin... Dr. Snow.”

Said woman approached him and held out a cup. “I need you to urinate in this.”

“Not this second.” He took the cup from her hand and held on to it.

“What is... what is happening? What is going on?” He looked around the room. “Where’s my sister?”

“You were struck by lightning, dude,” Cisco replied.

“What?” He turned to a monitor that must have had a camera in it because he could see himself. He realized something. “Lightning gave me abs?”

“Your muscles should be atrophied, but instead they're in a chronic and unexplained state of cellular regeneration,” Caitlin said while touching him.

“Come here.” Cisco took him by the shoulders and directed him to a chair. “Have a seat. You were in a coma.”

“For how long?”

“Nine months,” Dr. Wells said as he wheeled into the room. “Welcome back, Mr. Allen.”

Barry could hear the loud, echoing click of heels running down the hollowed corridor and looked up to see his little sister rushing into the room and coming to a sliding stop at the computers.

“What’s going….” She gasped when she saw him. “Barry!” she gave a choking exclamation as her eyes filled with tears. With one hand covering her mouth she walked to her brother and launched herself into his arms, sobbing. “Oh, God….!”

He held her tight, wrapping his arms around her. He noticed her body was really warm, but he didn’t care. “Hey, Gracie.”

“God….” She sniffled. “I thought you would never wake up,” she whispered.

He kissed her cheek and then her head. She pulled back and sniffled again. “I need a Kleenex. I still need to go to work after this.”

Barry chuckled softly. Dr. Wells smiled at him. “We have a lot to discuss.”

Barry looked at Grace. She smiled. “Go ahead. He is your idol, Big Brother.” She kissed his cheek. “I’ll be here and we can go get Iris when you’re done.”

He smiled. He quickly dressed and walked around the facility with him. “It's hard to believe I'm here. I have always wanted to meet you face to face.”

“Yeah? Well, you certainly went to great lengths to do it,” he teased. “S.T.A.R. Labs has not been operational since FEMA categorized us as a class four hazardous location. 17 people died that night. Many more were injured. Myself amongst them.”

“Jeez. What happened?” Barry asked in awe of the giant hole in the place.

“Nine months ago, the particle accelerator went online exactly as planned. For 45 minutes, I had achieved my life's dream. And then... Then there was an anomaly. The electron volts became unmeasurable, the ring under us popped. Energy from that detonation was thrown into the sky and that, in turn, seeded a storm cloud...”

“That created a lightning bolt that struck me.”

“That's right. I was recovering myself... When I heard about you. The hospital was undergoing unexplainable power outages every time you were going into cardiac arrest, which was actually a misdiagnosis because you see, you weren't flatlining, Barry. Your heartbeat was moving too fast for the EKG to register it.”

They went back upstairs. “Now, I'm not the most popular person in town these days, but Detective West and his daughter gave me permission to bring you here, where we were able to stabilize you.”

“Iris?”

“Iris, yes. She came to see you quite often.”

“She talks a lot,” Caitlin said handing Dr. Wells his coffee.

Cisco walked up, smiling. “Also, she’s hot.” He shrugged. “Not my type, but she’s hot.”

Caitlin slid her eyes to Grace. She didn’t seem affected and actually laughed. “Nice save, Babe.” She kissed his cheek.

Barry looked at both Cisco and Grace. “Babe?” he asked. “When did…?”

“About seven and half months ago,” Grace replied. She looked into her brother’s matching blue eyes. “Don’t go all big brother. You’ll get to know him.” Grace picked up her jacket. She looked at Barry. “Ready to go?” she asked softly.

He nodded. Knowing when to drop the subject for now he looked at his sister. “Right.” He started walking. “I need to go.”

“No, you can't.”

“No, no. No, Caitlin's right,” Wells said. “No, now that you're awake, we need to do more tests. You're still going through changes. There's so much that we don't know.”

“I'm fine. Really, I feel normal. Thank you for saving my life.” He ran out.

“Really?”

Wells sighed.

Barry came back. “Can I keep the sweatshirt?”

Wells nodded. “Yeah, keep the sweatshirt.”

“Okay.”

* * *

Barry walked into Jitters and slowed to a stop to watch Iris. Grace followed behind him. She watched as they reunited.

“Fill 'er up?”

“Thanks.”

She looked up and saw Barry and gasped. “Oh, my God.” She ran to him and he held her. “You're awake. Why didn't S.T.A.R. Labs call us?”

“I just woke up.”

“Should you even be on your feet?”

“Iris, I... I'm okay.”

“I watched you die, Barry. You kept dying. Your heart kept stopping.”

“It's still beating.” To prove it he put her hand to his heart.

She felt how fast paced it was. “Feels really fast.”

Around him the world seemed to slow down for a moment as he watched Tracy dump her tray and something else fell behind him. He looked a little confused. Iris didn’t notice though as she smiled up at him and told him she was going to go get her stuff and be right back.

Grace walked up to him. “B, you okay?”

“Uh…yeah,” he said, still confused.

She watched him as they waited for Iris. She was a little worried about him. He seemed off. She had chalked up to just waking up from his long duration coma, but now watching him he did seem off.

* * *

As the family was reunited at the station, Joe got called away and Iris was asked to talk to someone. Barry looked around greeted people and then watched as a suspect tried to take a gun. He quickly disarmed him. A little freaked out by the speed at which traveled he looked at Iris and his sister. “I... I just need some air. But I'll call you tonight, all right? Both of you.”

Grace had a feeling she knew what was going on and looked at her brother and then Iris. She glanced at her watch. “I should get going too. I have a big photo issue coming out.” She hurriedly walked out and found her brother in the parking lot. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he said. He stammered his way through trying to get her to go away and she smiled.

“Barry, I’m not going anywhere. We need to get you back to S.T.A.R Labs. Come on.”

He lifted his hand up and they both watched as it vibrated. “What’s happening to me?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll find out. Let’s get you back to the lab.”

His body started speeding up and he ran into some dumpsters and then a cop car, shattering the windows. Grace walked to him and helped him off the car. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He smiled at her and then backed up and sped off.

She sighed, shaking her head. “BARRY!” However instead of trying to catch up to him by running, she pushed herself into the air and began gliding through the air at a super-sonic speed. She landed a few feet away from where he ended up in a laundry truck. She walked up to the African-American man who looked a little dazed. “Hi.” She walked up to the doors. “Barry?”

The man lifted the laundry off of him and Barry sat up, smiling. “Awesome!”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Come on, Big Brother. Let’s go.”

He climbed out of the back of the van and took her hand. He looked at her as they walked way, excitedly, “Did you see that?!”

“I did,” she said smiling. “It was really awesome.”

He then turned to her a little curious. “How—How….how did you catch up to me so fast?”

She looped her arm through his and smiled as they walked. “Well, funny you should ask that, because I have an answer.”

She proceeded to tell him about what had happened to her when the explosion happened as they rounded the corner toward S.T.A.R. Labs she had finished the majority of the story and was finishing with, “As it would seem I have all the powers—so far—of the elements.”

“Seriously?!”

She nodded. “Yeah. Earth, Wind, Fire and Air. Along with others that I’m just newly discovering.” She smiled at her brother. “The reason why I could catch up to you so fast is because I can fly.”

“No way!” he exclaimed. He gave her a disbelieving look. “Really?”

She laughed. “Really. In several different ways.”

“Oh, that’s so cool!”

She laughed. “Come on, B.”

As they walked back to the lab, Barry looked down at her. “So, what happened between you and that guy you were gushing about that night?”

She softly exhaled. “Um….we’re together now,” she answered. “In fact, you met him this morning.”

“Oh! Right,” he muttered. “The guy you called, ‘Babe’.”

She rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him. “Shut up. Let’s go see what they have to say at the Lab.”

* * *

They went at Ferris Airstrip and were all set up. Caitlin was finishing when she said to Harrison, “You don't really believe he can run that fast, do you?”

“Well, I believe anything is possible, and in a few minutes, maybe you will too.”

Cisco walked up to the back of the trailer and called out, “How does it fit?”

“It's a little snug,” Barry answered. He heard the snicker from his sister and glared at her. “Shut up.”

She then burst out laughing. “Sorry. Can’t help it.”

Cisco sighed. “Grace.”

“Sorry.” She cleared her throat. She slid her eyes to her brother. “It’s just that you remind me of those Goofy cartoons when he’s going swimming or working out or something.”

“At least you will be moving so fast no one will see you.” He walked with Barry to the track. “See, you thought the world was slowing down. It wasn't. You were moving so fast it only looked like everyone else was standing still. Dr. Wells will be monitoring your energy output, and Caitlin, your vitals.”

“What do you do?” Barry asked looking down at him.

“I make the toys, my man. Check it. This is a two-way headset with a camera I modified. Typically designed to combat battlefield impulse noise, or in your case, potential sonic booms, which would be awesome.” He laughed.

He walked away and Caitlin walked up to program the device around him. “What?”

“Nothing. I just noticed you don't smile too much.”

“My once promising career in bioengineering is over, my boss is in a wheelchair for life, the explosion that put you in a coma also killed my fiancé. So this blank expression kind of feels like the way to go.”

Dr. Wells wheeled up to him. “Mr. Allen, while I am extremely eager to determine your full range of abilities, I do caution restraint.”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He smirked at Grace. “So, when do I get to see your moves?”

She laughs. “When you do what you need to do so they can figure this all out.” She smirked at him, crossing her arms. “Think of it like the rewards mom used to give us when we were patient.”

He took off at a high rate of speed that it knocked Cisco on his ass and pushed Caitlin and Grace. She caught herself and started walking toward Cisco. “Oh, my God….” She continued watching as she stopped next to Cisco. She then looked down at him. “Hey, you okay?”

He looked up into her blue eyes and his heart began thundering in his chest. God, she was beautiful. “Y-Y-Yeah.” He took the hand she offered, and she pulled him to his feet.

They watched as he ran and then crashed hard into a bunch of water barrels. Grace stepped forward. “Oh, crap!” She then launched herself into the air and flew to her brother. She landed in front of him and knelt down next to him. “Barry! Are you okay?”

“I think I broke my arm.” He seethed in pain. “By the way, very cool flying there, Grace.”

She laughed. “Thanks. I kinda didn’t even think about it. You were hurt. I had to help you.”

He smiled and kissed her head. _Just like always, the Allen siblings took care of each other._

* * *

3 hours later, they were back at S.T.A.R. Labs and Barry was on the mend. Grace sighed and looked at Cisco. “I think I need to come up with something for myself to do, since if I’m not at home or my office, I’m here.”

He laughed. “Find a hobby.”

She laughed and slapped at him playfully. “Shut up.”

He laughed. Without thinking about it, he kissed the top of her head. “You’re cute.”

“I love you too. So, you coming over later so we can finish the closeted Lord of the Rings marathon you’re making me watch?”

He laughed softly. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world. You gonna stop giving me stone face as you attempt to pretend to not actually like the movie?”

She shrugged. “You’ll have to come over and find out,” she said with a smirk.

He laughed and shook his head. She walked to her brother. “What happened out there today? You were moving pretty well, and then something caused you to lose focus.”

“I started remembering something.”

“You were thinking about it weren’t you?”

He nodded and then looked at the rest of the team. “When I was eleven and Grace was eight, our mother was murdered. It was late. A sound woke me up. I came downstairs and... I saw what looked like a ball of lightning. Inside the lightning, there was a man. He killed our mom. They arrested our dad. He's still sitting in Iron Heights for her murder.” He looked at Grace, who was staring at the floor. “Everyone, the cops, the shrinks, they all told me what I saw was impossible.”

Cisco looked at Grace. “What do you remember about it?”

“Just the noise,” she said, shaking her head. “I couldn’t get out of my room. The only time I was let out was when Barry came and got me.” She exhaled. “They all but told me to stop believing in his delusions.” She looked at her boyfriend then at Barry. “He was my big brother, if he says that’s what he saw then I was going to believe him no matter what.”

Barry smiled at his sister and then looked at Wells. “What if the man who killed my mom was like me?”

“Well, I think I can say unequivocally you are one of a kind.”

Cisco looked at Grace who stepped forward and took her brother’s hands. “Harrison’s right, Barry. For your theory to be correct someone else would have had to build the accelerator that did all this to us and we know that didn’t happen.” She touched his cheek. “I think about her too. I miss her too. And I miss daddy. He shouldn’t be where he is right now, but unless we get undeniable proof of it we can’t get him out.”

“I know.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek. “Come on. Let’s go get something to eat at Jitters and leave the brains of the operation to their jobs.”


	3. Team Flash, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the publishing date of this chapter because I did some major revisions with my entire version of the Arrowverse. Arrow will still exist, however, my Daughter of the Arrow story won't. So, there won't be anymore Lexy. I just couldn't make everything work that I wanted to with her. So, until Supergirl is introduced I'm focusing on this story

They headed toward Jitters. As they walked Grace caught him up on her life. He looked up at that moment and saw Iris and Eddie kissing. His heart literally stopped beating and he halted.

“Barry?” she asked and followed his eye-line. She stopped. “Oh.”

Iris caught up to them and started walking back to the coffee place with them. “You can't tell my dad. He doesn't know about me and Eddie.”

“Doesn't seem like anyone's in on the secret.”

Grace raised her hand. “I was,” she said cautiously. She looked at her brother. “Sorry. Iris said she wanted to tell you.” She looked at her brother, hands raised. “I told you my secret.”

Iris smiled. “I was gonna tell you. When you were in the hospital, Eddie covered my father's shifts so that we could both be with you. I thanked him with a cup of coffee, and things just kind of happened. And it's good.”

“Dating your partner's daughter... Isn't that against department regulations?” 

Grace looked at her brother and felt for him. She couldn’t imagine being where he was. In love with his best friend and knowing she didn’t see him that way.

“Why are you so upset?”

In the distance, tires can be heard squealing. Grace looked up and didn’t see anything at first. 

“I just don't like having to lie to your dad, you know?”

The sound of a siren coming closer to them had Grace looking up. “Barry.”

They both turned to look and seen an officer in one of the cars trying to block the felon from escaping, but he was coming closer to them more than actually stopping. Grace dove out of the way as Barry grabbed Iris, turned her and fell to the ground.

When they were settled, both Iris and Grace looked up to see Barry was gone. They watched in the distance as Mardon’s car flipped. However, as it was in the air somehow Mardon got out and Barry was the only one left in the car when it crashed.

A little dazed he pulled himself from the car and stood. “Hey! Mardon!”

* * *

The ambulance, police and first responders were on the scene. The ambulance took one of the crash victims to the morgue. “That poor man. The way that fog came in, I have never seen anything like it.”

“Barry! Grace! Iris!”

Joe hugged Grace. She smiled into his shoulder. “We’re okay, Joe.” 

Joe put his hand on Iris’ shoulder. “I'm all right, dad.”

“What the hell were you thinking having her out here? No, no, no... And I told you, when you see danger, you run the other way. You're not a cop.”

“Because you wouldn't let me!” she argued. 

“You're damn right.”

“Joe, I need to talk to you.” 

“It can wait.”

“No, it can’t,” Barry said firmly. Joe and Barry walked off to talk. 

As they walked talked, Grace got a call from her office and she promised to stop in to fix the problem they were having. As she hung up she heard, “Dad, enough!” 

He shot Grace a glare and shook his head at her. To Iris he said, “Unh-uh, Iris. I have done my best to take care of you and your sister since that night, and I have never asked for anything in return, not even a thank you, but what I do ask now is that you for once in your life see things as they are.”

Barry hung his head and walked off. Iris and Grace both gave him looks that said, ‘I can’t believe you did that’. Iris ran off while Grace looked at him. She pushed her hair back with her fingers. “You know, why can’t you ever just give him that one? You never know it may come back that he was right and then how ridiculous are you going to feel?”

“Grace.”

She held up her hands in a back off kind of way and started walking to catch up to her brother. She stopped. “Daddy loved mom too much to ever take her out of our lives that way, Joe.” She put a hand to her chest. “That’s why I believe he didn’t do it.”

* * *

Barry came through the doors of the main lab of the facility and looked at every member. “Grace and I weren't the only ones affected by the particle accelerator explosion, were we?”

“We don't know for sure.”

Grace came into the lab and let him loose. “You said the city was safe, that there was no residual danger! But that's not true, so what really happened that night?”

“Well... The accelerator went active. We all felt like heroes, and then... It all went wrong. The dimensional barrier ruptured, unleashing unknown energies into our world. Antimatter, dark energy, x-elements—”

“Those are all theoretical,” Barry pointed out. 

“And how theoretical are you? We mapped the dispersion throughout and around Central City. Though we have no way of knowing exactly what or... Who was exposed, we've been searching for other meta-humans like yourself.”

“"Meta-humans"?”

“That's what we're calling them,” Caitlin said softly. 

“I saw one today. He's a bank robber, and he can control the weather.”

“This just keeps getting cooler,” Cisco said excitedly. 

“This is not cool. All right? A man died.”

Grace stepped up to her brother, touching his arm comfortingly. “Barry.”

“Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did. From the storm cloud. He's still out there. We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else.” 

“Barry! That's a job for the police.”

“I work for the police.”

“As a forensic assistant.”

Grace turned on Wells and shot him her copy of their mother’s death glare. “Low blow, Wells.”

He looked a little surprised by her statement. Barry turned on Wells. “You're responsible for this. For him.”

“What's important is you! Not me. I lost everything. I lost my company. I lost my reputation. I lost my freedom. And then you broke your arm, and it healed in three hours. Inside your body could be a map to a whole new world... Genetic therapies, vaccines, medicines, treasures buried deep within your cells and we cannot risk losing everything because you want to go out and play hero!” he said raising his voice at the end. “You're not a hero. You are just a young man who was struck by lightning.”

Barry stared at them all dumbfounded and little hurt. Grace couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She looked at Cisco. She couldn’t believe he wasn’t going to say anything. She gave him a look he understood all too well—disappointment. 

Barry took her hand and walked out with her. He looked at her. “I’ll race ya!”

She laughed and said, “You’re on, Feet.” She took off in flight and him on feet and they zigged and zagged. Her in the air and him on the ground. He got to the Starling City sign several seconds before her and she landed a few seconds after Barry, as he looked at the Starling City sign. 

“Whatcha doin’ big brother?”

“I’m gonna go talk to a friend,” he said, sighing. “Wanna come?”

She smiled. “Sure. Let’s go.”

* * *

Oliver Queen got to the roof of the building that Barry told Oliver to meet him at and he watched a woman landing gracefully on the roof, next to Barry.Oliver observed her looks and figured she was related somehow. 

Oliver smirked. “Who’s the bird.

“My sister,” he answered simply.

“You have a sister?” the man dressed in green leather asked.

He nodded. “Oliver, meet my sister, Grace. Gracie, meet Oliver Queen.”

Grace smiled and waved at him. “I have no idea why we’re here.”

Oliver looked at his friend. “So, what’s up?”

Grace smiled. “Let me go first.” He nodded. She began telling her story first and then Barry filled in the blanks on his end and then continued the story. “So that's my story. I've spent my whole life searching for the impossible, never imagining that I would become the impossible.”

Oliver smiled. “So why come to me? Something tells me you didn't just run six-hundred miles to say "hi" to friends.”

“All my life, I've wanted to just do more... Be more. And now I am. And the first chance I get to help someone, I screw up. What if Wells is right? What if I'm not a hero? What if I'm just some guy who was struck by lightning?”

He looked at his friend. “I don't think that bolt of lightning struck you, Barry. I think it chose you.” He smiled at Grace. “And I don’t just think you meeting that guy in the coffee place was happenstance as Felicity would say.” He looked at Grace. “I think you were meant to meet him and you were meant to go down there that night. And I think whatever happened was supposed to happen so you could be what you are now.”

“Which is what exactly?” she asked. “I don’t know if I can…I’m not sure I could do this.”

“Grace’s right. I'm just not sure either. I’m not like you, Oliver. I don't know if I can be some... vigilante.”

“You can be better. Because you can inspire people in a way that I never could... Watching over your city like a guardian angel... Making a difference... Saving people... In a flash. Take your own advice. Wear a mask.”

Oliver fired a grappling hook arrow to the building across the street. Grace and Barry both ran to the edge of the building and watched as Oliver propelled down to the building.

“Cool,” they said in unison.

Oliver sat on the side of the building and watched as Barry ran and Grace flew back to their city. “Cool,” Oliver said smiling.

* * *

Once they entered Central City limits, Barry stopped and so did Grace. Grace gracefully landed and looked at her brother. “So, what’s the next step, B?”

“Let’s go back to the precinct, I wanna check something out.”

She nodded and like in Starling, Barry sped off and she flew off.

Awhile later, they walked into S.T.A.R. Labs, carrying file boxes. They went into another room and Barry asked Caitlin and Cisco to come in. Grace’s heart thudded in her chest at the sight of Cisco. He looked sad. She cleared her throat. “What’s up?” Caitlin asked.

“We've been going over unsolved cases from the past nine months, and there's been a sharp increase in unexplained deaths and missing people. Your meta-humans have been busy.” 

They looked down guiltily. 

“Now, I'm not—”

“This isn’t your fault!” Grace interjected.

Barry nodded. “Right. We’re not blaming you. We know you didn't mean for any of this to happen. I know you all lost something. But we need your help to catch Mardon and anyone else out there like him. But we can't do it without you.”

Cisco looked at Grace. “You’re going to do it too?”

She nodded. “I have to do something,” she answered. “I can’t keep looking at these powers as a product of an accident.” She shrugged. “I want to help.” She looked into his eyes. “I want to help you build your reputation back, even if it is in secret.” She sighed. “I want to save people if I can.”

Cisco smiled. He looked at Caitlin and she gave him a look that said she agreed, he smiled. “If we're gonna do this, I have something that might help. Something I've been playing with.”

He took them into a far back room and turned it around. “Designed to replace the turnouts firefighters traditionally wear. I thought if S.T.A.R. Labs could do something nice for the community, maybe people wouldn't be so angry at Dr. Wells anymore.”

“How is it going to help me?”

“Or me?” Grace asked.

Cisco gave her an apologetic smile. “I’ll have to make yours. It’ll have to withstand all your powers, so it might take a while.”

She nodded. He looked at Barry. “It's made of a reinforced tri-polymer. It's heat and abrasive resistant, so it should withstand your moving at high-velocity speeds. And the aerodynamic design should help you maintain control. Plus, it has built-in sensors so we can track your vitals and stay in contact with you from here.”

“Thanks. Now how do we find Mardon?”

“I retasked S.T.A.R. Labs satellite to track meteorological abnormalities over Central City. We just got a ping. Atmospheric pressure dropped 20 millibars in a matter of seconds. I've tracked it to a farm just west of the city.”

Barry turned to his sister. “Go put something else on that Joe can’t figure out it’s you. No logos or anything, just something plain.”

She nodded. “Color preference?”

He shook his head. “No.”

She walked off to get ready, but stopped when her brother called her name. “Yes?”

“You’re taking the lead.”

“Wha—what?”

“You’re the only one of the two of us that has similar powers, Kiddo.”

She nodded nervously. 

A few moments later, she came back wearing a hoodie and jeans. “Yep. Decided I need a different outfit and quick.” She looked at her brother. “This isn’t going to work.”

He laughed. “It’ll have to do for now.” He smiled. “Come on.”

“Wait,” she said and walked over to Cisco. She took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. “I love you,” she murmured.

“I love you.” He sighed softly. “Be careful.”

“Promise.”

* * *

They got to the farm just in time to see Clyde building up the wind to form a tornado. They watched for a few moments and then they both took off as a roof to one of the barns started flying toward Joe and Eddie. Barry took off and knocked it out of their way.

Mardon has formed a tornado, Grace realizes and watches as it heads toward the city. She straightened thinking of what Barry had told her about theoretically stopping a tornado. Microwaves. A blast of microwaves could stop it! She smiled. 

She straightened and held out her arms to her sides. She closed her eyes. On the ground Joe watched as a red orb like light seem to come from the sky and charge the woman standing in front of him. He watched as she took whatever was charging her body and moved her arms out in front of her, pointing them at Mardon. 

The blast was aimed at the tornado that was headed for the city and began to loosen. She turned her head to where Joe saw a man in red leather and yelled, “Unravel it!”

The man in the leather looked at her. “What?!”

“Unravel it!” she yelled above the roar of the wind. “I’m stopping it, and it’s slowly breaking up but if you run in the opposite direction it’ll unravel which will destroy it and make him powerless!”

“Barry!” Caitlin exclaimed. “Your body may not be able to handle those speeds. You’ll die.”

“Then we die!” she said.

“We have to try!” Barry told them. He looked at Grace. “Can you hold on for a little bit longer?”

She nodded. “Yeah, but if you want in on it you may wanna hurry up. It’s starting to break up quicker now.”

He nodded. He heard Caitlin trying to talk him out of it. “Caitlin, I gotta try. Grace’s never steered me wrong before. I trust her.”

Barry ran around the tornado from the inside. As it started to work and they were both breaking it up, Mardon hit him with a bolt of lightning and he flew out and away. Grace came over and landed in a kneeling position. 

Wells gave them a pep talk and they tried again. Barry looked up at her. “We do this together. Can you blast it with that beam again?”

She nodded. “I think so.”

He nodded. “Good. Do it.”

She nodded and landed. She held her arms out at her sides again and that same red beam shot down and absorbed into her body. She then threw her arms out in front of her, palms facing Mardon and the beam started breaking up the tornado.

He began running again. Moments later, the tornado dissipated. Throwing both Grace and Barry to the ground. She rolled and pulled the hood off. She stood and looked. Mardon was holding a gun to them both. “Oh, crap!”

Barry looked to where Grace was standing and stood between her and Mardon. When he raised his gun to fire, two shots rang out and Mardon fell down dead. Grace sighed, relieved. She fell to her knees and started panting. 

“Barry!” Caitlin exclaimed.

Barry sat up and looked at his sister. “I’m okay. We’re okay.”

* * *

Daybreak, Joe, Grace and Barry leaned against one of the patrol cars neither really saying a word. Grace was for sure thinking they were going to get yelled at. But all Joe asked was, “What you can do... It was the lightning bolt?”

“More or less.”

He looked at Grace. “What about you?”

“Um….wave of energy from the explosion,” she explained in the simplest way possible. 

There was a pause and then Joe said, “I'm sorry, Barry. I'm sorry I didn't believe you. And I called you crazy for chasing the impossible. But you really did see something that night your mom died. And your dad is innocent.” Joe came around to stand in front of both Barry and Grace. “I need you to promise me something. Both of you. I don't want you telling Iris about anything you can do, any of it. I want her safe. Promise me.”

“Yeah,” they said in unison.

Grace sighed and looked up at Barry. “Can we go see daddy?”

He looked down at her. “Sure. Come on.”

* * *

They walked into the visitor section of Iron Heights and waited for their father. Henry Allen smiled at both of them. He picked up the phone and said, “Hey, Slugger.” He turned his smile to Grace. “Hi, Princess.”

She laughed. “Hi, daddy.”

Barry chuckled. “You've been calling me that since I was 11.” He scoffed. “Funny thing is, I finally got into a fight today.”

“You just got out of a coma. I'm not sure you should be picking fights.”

He looked down at the desk.

“Hey... did you win?”

Barry and Grace snickered. “Yeah, I did.”

They talked to him for a couple of hours and then as they walked out of the prison, Barry turned to Grace. “I’m so glad you were out there with me, Sis.”

She smiled and hugged him at his torso. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be, Big Brother.” She looked up at him. “I love you, B.”

He smiled and kissed her forehead. “I love you too, G.” He tucked her head under his chin. “What was that beam?”

She laughed. “Microwaves.” She looked up at him again, this time resting her chin on his chest. “I remembered how you told me theoretically that microwaves could break up a tornado. Thought I’d test the theory.”

He laughed and kissed the top of her head again. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

* * *

Grace stepped off the elevator on her floor and pulled her keys from her pocket. She looked up and smiled when she saw Cisco waiting for her at her door.

“Hi,” he said so softly that she almost had a hard time hearing it.

She smiled. “Hi.” She unlocked the door and turned to him. She looked into his eyes and saw the worry there. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

“Are you mad at me?”

“Should I be?” she asked, leaning against the door frame.

Words failed him as he stared at her in shock. “I thought you would be because of the whole thing with Wells…”

She smiled, looked down at the floor for a moment then up at him. “Okay, Ramon, come on.” She took his hand and pulled him into the apartment. She walked him to the couch, gently pushed him onto the sofa and straddled his lap. “We need to talk, Handsome.”

He sighed. “Gracie, I’m sor--” his words died against her lips. 

She softly pulled back and looked into his face. “I love you.” 

“I love you,” he murmured. “I’m sorry that I didn’t--”

She covered his mouth and put a finger to her own mouth. “I love you. Nothing will ever change that. Not even the fact that you didn’t defend my brother’s decision to make the invention’s mistake right.” She put her hands to his chest. “We’re going to fight. That’s inevitable, Sweetheart, but just because we fight doesn’t mean that I want to break up or that we’re over.” She kissed him. She looked into his eyes and decided to throw caution to the wind. “I wasn’t going to say this because I’m afraid that you won’t feel the same, but uh, after this I think I need to say it.” 

“What?” he asked.

“I want to spend my life with you. I would love nothing more than to get married someday, have babies with you and live forever with you.” 

His chest swelled with hope, happiness and joy. He’d been wanting to tell her the same thing. He leaned forward and took her mouth with his. She moaned as he deepened the kiss. He pulled back and their lips lightly smacked apart. “I feel that way too.” He cupped her cheek. “I’d been feeling that way for a while now, but I was afraid to tell you.” He sighed. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, but never knew I needed, Gracie.” He caressed his fingers down her cheek. “And really do need you.” He shook his head. “I didn’t think it was possible to need someone or want someone as much as I want you, but I do.”

She sealed their promised future with a kiss.


	4. Fastest Man Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one guys. But I really hope you love it.

“Grace, I got your suit done.”

“Yay!” she turned to face her boyfriend of almost a year. She jumped up and down like a five-year-old getting a new pony. “Let me see.”

He snickered. “Come on.”

Barry took her hand and walked with her to the room where Cisco had been building her suit for a while now. He spun around the display that it was on. It was white and red with a red emblem like Barry’s and a yellow lightning bolt. Grace looked it up and down and noticed something. She folded her arms over her chest. “Why is it shorts?”

“Well, uh…..?” Cisco eyed his girlfriend. 

Caitlin laughed. “We thought it would be more aerodynamic that way.”

“Really?” she asked. “Why?”

“You can move around better,” Cisco finally spoke. 

She smirked. “And here I thought it was because you liked my legs.” She shrugged at her brother, shooting Cisco a wink and said, “Huh. Okay. I’ll try it on.” She looked around. “Where’s the boots and the mask?”

Caitlin held out a pair of red and white high-heeled ankle length boots and red mask. She disappeared into another room and came out about 5-minutes later completely dressed from head to toe. She twirled for her brother to see. “What do you think?”

Barry looked at her from head to toe. The entire outfit from the jacket to the boots looked amazing. smiled. “You look amazing, Gracie.”

She squealed and walked over to Cisco. She hugged him. “Thank you!” She gave him a deep drugging kiss.

When she pulled back, his eyes popped wide. “You’re very welcome, Sweetheart.”

“Try it out,” Caitlin said to her. 

“How?” she asked. “We’re inside.”

Caitlin smiled. “Fly around the inside of the building.”

She nodded. “Okay.” She pushed off the floor gently and levitated. She then sped off and flew around the building heading through the corridors first and then came back a few minutes later. She landed. “You’re right. Shorts are more aerodynamic.”

Barry and Caitlin both laughed and walked away. Cisco smirked, proudly. He walked up to her and whispered, “Still the best legs in the World, Gaia.”

Grace spun around and looked at him. “What did you call me?” she asked. It was loud enough that both Barry and Caitlin looked at them too.

“Gaia,” he told her. “I thought of it because of the whole elemental power thing. Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. It’s all what makes Mother Nature.” He shrugged. “If you don’t like it I can—”

“No, no, no!” she said quickly. “I like it. A lot.” Not caring that this would be the second kiss that her brother would witness, she walked up to Cisco and kissed him more firmly on the mouth. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You’re the best.” 

Heat curled inside of him as his heart almost literally skipped a beat. Almost a year together and she could still send his body heat into orbit. “So, you’ve said.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.” 

“I’m gonna go change. Do you think we can figure out a place to put this thing like we do Barry’s or do I not get a glass case to store my suit?”

He laughed softly. “You got one, Grace.”

She smiled. “Good.”

* * *

“So, what are you doing for lunch today?” Grace asked as she stood barefoot in her kitchen the next day. She had on her robe and nothing else as she scuffled around the kitchen. She smothered her 3 stack of pancakes with syrup. 

“Depends on what you want to do,” Cisco admitted as he walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck. 

“Mmm,” she hummed appreciatively. “I wouldn’t mind going back to bed and making love with you until we both can’t move.”

He laughed softly into the soft skin at her neck, he nipped at her neck. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” she moaned as he nipped at her again.

“What do you think of moving in together?”

Her eyes widened and she turned in his arms. She put them on his chest. “You’re serious?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I mean we’ve been together for almost a year and I’m over here all the time anyway, so why not?”

She smiled up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Oh, Mr. Ramon, I hope you got the time because you’re going to be late for work for saying something like that.”

He laughed into her mouth as she kissed him. He pushed her plate down the counter and lifted her onto the counter. “It’ll be worth it.”

* * *

Grace walked into the **_**Central City Picture News**_** and greeted everyone cheerfully. She looked to her right and saw Mason Bridge glowering at her. “Good morn--” her phone rang and she answered into the second ring. “Hey, Handsome.”

“Hey, Sweetheart. There’s a fire on Western and third. He could really use Gaia’s help.”

“I’m going,” she said and rushed to her office. She locked the door and rushed to the window. She threw it open and stripped out of her suit and underneath was her Gaia suit.

Surprisingly, she was there before Barry. She looked around. The fire was getting out of control as it continued to engulf the building angrily. She put a finger to her ear. “Cisco, where’s Barry?”

“He’s on his way. He overshot it.”

“Okay, well, if I don’t do something now this building is going to be gone!”

“It’s your scene, Gracie. Do what you can.”

She exhaled. “What do you think will happen if I inhale the fire and smoke?”

“Uh…probably nothing good.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

“Do it, but be careful.”

She took a deep breath when she saw her brother rush in. She exhaled. “You get the people out and let me worry about the fire.”

“Got it,” he answered.

She began inhaling it all. The smoke and fire burning her throat. When she had contained it inside of her body she rushed to the river and dove in. She swam back to the top and tapped her comm, but it sizzled in her ear. “Damn it,” she hissed, barely audible and felt the pain shoot through her throat.

Barry stopped in an alley and tapped his comm on his chest. “Everybody's out. What else you got for me, Cisco?”

“Barry, it's Caitlin.”

Trying to sound normal, Barry said, “Hey, Caitlin. How's your day?”

“Get back to S.T.A.R. Labs. Now.”

“On my way.” He started to take off but got dizzy. “Whoa.”

“Barry, have you seen Gracie?”

“No. She said she was going to contain the fire and by the time I came out with the first few residents she was gone. Why?”

“She’s not answering her comm.”

“Okay, we’ll look for her when I get to the Lab.”

* * *

By the time Grace got to the Lab, Caitlin was well into her lecture to Barry about running into the fire like a super-sonic fireman. “Why not? This is what we talked about: Me using my speed to do good.”

“We talked about you helping us contain other people who might have been affected by the particle accelerator explosion. Meta-humans. And aside from Clyde Mardon, we haven't found any.”

“People in this city still need help. And I can help them.”

“We can help them.”

Feeling defeated she looked at Wells and said, “Will you please say something?”

“I think what Caitlin is saying, in her own spectacularly angry way, is that we are just beginning to understand what your body is capable of. Not to sound like a broken record, Mr. Allen... I do caution restraint.”

“Dr. Wells... I doubt restraint is how you got to be the man you are today. In a wheelchair and a pariah. Lack of restraint is what made me these things. Know your limits.”

“Don't expect me to patch you up every time you break something.”

Grace slapped the table where the computers were. Cisco’s eyes bulged. “Gracie!”

“What happened to you?” Barry asked as he came to her at the same time as Cisco.

She grabbed the pad of paper on the table and quickly wrote: ****Inhaled the fire. I think I singed my chords. Can barely talk and my comm died when I went into the river.****

“Well, that explains why she couldn’t say anything back to me,” Cisco muttered.

“Why would you do something so stupid!?!” Caitlin exclaimed, upset.

 ** **Because as hard as they were trying the firemen weren’t going to get there in time. Those people needed help. I helped them. If not being able to talk for a few days is the worst of it then so be it.**** She looked at Caitlin defiantly. ****I’ll take that over people dying any day. Now if you’ll excuse me. I gotta get back to work.****

“Hey, uh...anything happen out there today?” Cisco asked.

Grace eyed her brother suspiciously.

“The sensors in the suit were kicking back some weird telemetry, like your vitals spiked for a few seconds.”

“Never felt better,” Barry lied.

Barry’s phone went off, buzzing telling them of a phone call. Barry answered, “Hey, Joe. Everything all right?”

Grace tapped her brother and mouthed, _You’re such a bad liar!_

As Barry left, Cisco took Grace’s hand. “Babe, maybe you should go home and call in sick today?”

She smiled and wrote on the pad: ****That’s sweet, thank you. But I can’t. My clothes are currently laying in my office. I can’t leave them in there. However, I do need to come up with a good lie as to how I’m suddenly sick and need to go home. Any ideas?****

They all fell silent and then Cisco said, “I got it! Food poisoning. You could say you just threw up in your bathroom and need to go see a doctor.”

She smiled and kissed his lips. _I love you,_ she mouthed. She headed out of the building and shot a text to Cisco.

****[To Cisco]: Remind me later to put a change of clothes somewhere in the Lab. And you’re coming to my place, right?** **

****[From Cisco]: That would probably be a good idea. And you know I’ll be there. I gotta figure out what could help your vocal chords. We’ll talk later. I love you.** **

****[To Cisco]: I love you.** **

* * *

Barry was hard at work on the evidence collected at the scene of a robbery. He put one of his vials into the mixer and tried to start it, but the machine wouldn’t work, so instead he used his speed and mixed it himself. He stood, pulled off one of his gloves and suddenly felt light-headed. As he recovered, Iris walked in. “This is all of your fault. I could have taken European folklore to cover my sociology requirement, but no. You said, "take journalism, Iris. Reporters have all of the fun." Guess what, Barry? Reporters have none of the fun. Journalism is boring. I'm bored. I blame you.”

Barry didn’t say anything, he just stared.

“What? Why are you staring at me like that?”

“You look really nice,” he finally spoke.

“Thanks. Why don't you look nice?”

He looked at her dumbfounded.

“This afternoon? Suit and tie? The university is giving Simon Stagg…”

“Simon Stagg.”

“Some big award. And you agreed--”

“To explain the science stuff for your article. It's all coming back to me now.”

“How fast can you get home and change?”

“Uh, pretty fast.”

“Hey, Allen,” Eddie said as he came upstairs. “Joe asked me to see where you're at on the evidence from the gun store shooting. Oh, hey, Iris.”

“Detective.”

“Please, guys, uh, just kiss already. I already know, remember?”

They kissed and Eddie looked at him. “Ah. Thanks for being so cool about this, Barry. I know it's not easy keeping a big secret.”

He straightened and murmured as he walked away, “I’m getting used to it.”

“Oh, hey, Barry, I tried to call Grace to see if she would take some photos for my article, but she didn’t answer.” She smirked as she asked, “Did she play hooky with Cisco?”

He laughed. “No. Actually, she texted me this morning and said she wouldn’t be around because last night they had dinner at the Jade Dragon and now she’s sick.”

Eddie winced. “Food poisoning?”

He nodded. “Yeah. So, she wanted me to tell you guys to not eat there until she braves it again and tells you it’s good.” He pulled his phone out and quickly shot a text telling Grace what he had told them that way she could continue the cover. Surprisingly, he got a text from Grace: ****I’ll meet you there. I’m bored.****

He chuckled. “She just texted me and let me know that she’ll meet us there. Apparently she’s bored at home.”

“It’s probably no fun without Cisco there,” Eddie countered with a smile.

Barry smiled. “Probably.”

“You cool with them dating?” Iris asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” he questioned. “I stopped vetting her boyfriends a long time ago, Iris. She has good instincts.” He sighed. “And Cisco treats her really well. Like better than anyone she’s ever been with.”

“Especially Josh,” Iris added.

“Exactly,” Barry agreed.

Eddie looked at them both. “Was he that bad?”

Barry scoffed and nodded. “Yeah. Josh verbally, emotionally and mentally abused her.” He looked at his watch. “We should get going.”

“Right.” Iris kissed Eddie and they left.

* * *

They got to Stagg Industries and saw Grace waiting for them. Iris walked up to her and hugged her. “You feeling okay?”

She nodded. Iris looked at Barry and then back at Grace. “Why aren’t you talking?”

She texted her: ****Because of all my puking I have a sore throat.****

Iris read the message and winced. “Ooh. Sorry.”

She shook her head in a gesture that said don’t worry about it. She waved for them to follow her and she flashed her press pass and motioned to all of them. They walked into the building and headed to the room that was holding the award ceremony. Grace lifted the camera that was around her neck up and began taking photos. She then whispered, “I’ll take photos and you can pick later what ones you want.”

“Thanks, Gracie.”

Moments later, Stagg took the stage and she began clicking away with the camera as he did his speech, “I find it quite remarkable, having once been a timid freshman at Central City University, to be standing before you now, the regents choice for man of the year. While I very much appreciate the award, the real honor for me is knowing that my work in organ transference helps give people a second chance at life. Thank you all very much for coming.”

Barry began explaining, “Okay. All right, first things first... Simon Stagg's work in cellular cloning has led to huge advancements in the future of organ replacement…”

“Ooh!” Iris said excitedly when a waiter with a tray champagne came by. “Are journalists allowed to drink on the job?”

Grace took one of the drinks, Barry took the other as she said, “No.”

“Okay. If you are bored already, just wait till we get to the science behind cellular regeneration.”

“I have missed this, Barry. I feel like we haven't spent any quality time together since you woke up from the coma.”

Grace watched the two of them as they talked. She pulled her phone out and texted Cisco: ****My throat feels a little better. I miss you.****

He came back with another texts moments later that said: ****Good, I’m glad. I miss you more. Just so you know I’m making a file of your powers and the aftermath of using some of them. Like being able to breath in the fire. Is that okay?****

****Absolutely. That way someone who also works there can look at it if need be. Good idea, Baby. I love you.** **

****I love you. Come see me when you get done with your brother and sister.** **

She tuned back into the conversation to hear, “No. That is not it at all.” Oh! Oh! Mr. Stagg, I was wondering if I could get a quote from you for my article.”

“Not now, miss,” the bodyguard told her.

She waved them off and stated simply, “I'll just make something up.”

As Iris turned toward him and asked what he was going to say, shots rang out and all 3 of them knelt to the floor. Barry shot Grace a look and she immediately knew what he wanted. She took out her phone and typed in ****9-1-1. Stagg Industries**** to Joe.

The gunmen demanded their jewelry. After Grace and Iris took theirs off, Barry started to go toward them, but both girls stopped him by taking his arms. As the security guard came to subdue the situation, the gunmen shot at him. Barry sped off, taking him around the waist and speeding outside. Grace flew off with him, catching his air as she went.

When she found him, he was leaning against a dumpster. “Barry!” she yelled, hoarsely. She caught him as he fell and sat on the ground with him.

* * *

She heard Iris’ heels clapping behind her and she yelled, “IRIS! Back here!”

“Oh, my God…what happened?!”

“I don’t know. I came outside to call dad and I caught him right before he fell. Help me?”

She winced at the sound of Grace’s voice. “You should really stop talking.”

Grace nodded. “I know. Help?”

“Yeah,” she said and helped her lean him against the dumpster. They woke him up and he moaned.

“I turned around and you were gone,” Iris told him. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I... I went after them to try and get the plates.”

“Wha--?”

“And I... I fainted.”

“You’re an idiot,” Grace told him.

They helped him to his feet and took him inside. Joe looked up. “Where have you two been?”

“Dad, go easy. I found him outside. He fainted.”

“You want me to get you a paramedic, Allen?”

“No, I'm fine. Thanks, Eddie.”

They heard the guard as he recounted what happened. “I thought I was dead. I saw the gun go off, and then-- boom. Suddenly I'm outside. I have no idea how I got there.”

“Let me talk to you for a second.”

“Yeah.”

“You chased those gunmen, didn't you?”

“Yeah, they must be the same guys that knocked over the gun shop earlier today.”

“And what were you going to do when you caught them? Huh? Ask them nicely to pull over? You're not bulletproof. Wait. Are you?”

“No, but-- Okay.”

“No more heroics. Chasing bad guys is not your job. It's mine. You're not a cop. Promise me. Promise. And you know Iris is not stupid. Start making better excuses than "I fainted." I…”

Grace walked up to her brother after Joe walked away and took his hand. “Come on, we’re going to see Caitlin.”

* * *

They walked into the Cortex and looked at Cisco. “Hey, Baby.”

He spun in his chair, “Hey, Sweetheart? Are you okay? We tuned into the police radio to catch anymore gunmen, heard the whole thing.”

“I’m fine,” she told him, her voice sounding scratchy. “I could use a water and he needs food.”

“Food?” Caitlin asked. “So feed him.”

“I would, but I think it needs a right amount of food.” She sighed. “He’s been experiencing dizzy spells, his last one caused him to pass out.” She looked at Cisco. “His blood sugar is low. My guess is his speed also sped up his metabolism so now he needs more food in his system to sustain him.”

Cisco nodded. “All right--”

“We’ll run tests,” Caitlin insisted.

Grace rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

They took him to the medbay area and Caitlin lit into him. “You lied to us. How could you not tell us you're experiencing dizzy spells? We're your doctors. God knows what's going on inside your body. Your cells are in a constant state of flux. You could be experiencing cardiopulmonary failure or a transient ischemic attack.”

Barry looked at Wells curiously.

“Mini stroke,” Grace and Wells said in unison.

Cisco smirked. “Great job, baby.”

Wells looked at Barry. “Probably not.”

“You of all people should know that in science, we share. We do not keep secrets.” She stomped off.

“Wow…” Cisco murmured.

“Someone seriously needs a Valium,” Grace quipped.

“I haven't seen anyone make her that angry since Ronnie.”

“Ronnie was Caitlin's fiance?” Barry asked. “The one that died the night of the accelerator explosion?”

“Yeah. He is... missed. Now... Let's figure out why this is happening to you.”

* * *

Cisco had powered up a treadmill to accommodate Barry’s speed so they could do this test. Grace leaned on his chair as she said, “When you three find out I’m right I expect some major respect after this.”

“For what? Guessing one right?” Caitlin argued.

“You know, just because I’m cute and everything doesn’t mean I’m stupid. I have degrees too.”

“Name them?”

“Pharmaceutical science, forensic psychology, computer software engineering and journalism with a minor in photography.”

Wells looked up at her. “How did you do all that?”

“I have a photographic memory and graduated high school at 16. I got the forensic psychology degree in hopes of helping my brother find out who killed our mom. Why I know about metabolic changes and everything is because I used to run track. Joe had a hard time keeping mine under control. Used to pass out all the time.”

Wells looked at the glucose levels and looked up at Grace. “She’s right. Caitlin, look at the glucose levels.”

“Oh, my God. Of course.”

“Right?”

“It was so obvious. Glucose levels.”

“Barry! We think we know why you keep--”

They watched as he slammed into the boxes. Grace flinched.

“--passing out,” Wells finished.

“Ooh, that’s gonna hurt.”

Caitlin looked up at her. “I apologize.” She exhaled. “I guess I can get a little--”

“It’s cool,” Grace told her. “My mom always used to tell me that because of my beauty people were never going to know I had a brain until I showed them.” She sighed. She tapped her boyfriend on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s go peel my big brother from those boxes.”

“So is your metabolism why you could inhale all those tacos the other night?” he asked as they walked out of the observation room.

She laughed. “Maybe. Plus, I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, except a protein bar.” She pushed past some boxes and sat Barry up. “Okay, Big Brother, let’s get you to bed to sleep it off.”

* * *

Barry groaned as he came to. “I passed out again?”

Cisco and Caitlin helped him to his feet. “Total metabolic failure brought on by acute hypoglycemia.”

“I'm not eating enough. So an I.V. bag and I'm good to go?”

Both Cisco and Grace laughed. “Right, Big Brother.”

“Try 40,” Wells said as they faced him. “Guess you were thirsty.”

“We're gonna need to fashion you a new diet based on your metabolic changes.”

“I've done a few calculations. You need to consume an amount equal to roughly 850 tacos. Unless we're talking cheese and guac, which is like a whole other set of equations.”

Barry looked at Grace and she laughed, love in her eyes for the quirky scientist. “And you’re sure you’re in love with him?” he teased.

“With every fiber of my being,” she answered without hesitation.”

“For Mexican, I recommend Tito's. On Bruckner Avenue? Best burrito in the city.”

“Dad.”

“Detective West. What brings you to S.T.A.R. Labs?”

He pointed at Barry. “When I couldn't find you at your lab, I started doing a little research. Turns out there's been reports of a red streak and a girl dressed in white and red going around the city, stopping muggers, rescuing people from burning buildings.” He looked at Grace. “Putting out fires--let me guess that’s actually where the lack of voice came from? You breathed in the fire?”

“I did,” she answered truthfully.

Wells looked at both Barry and Grace. “You didn't tell him we were working together?”

“Joe, I can explain.”

“You already have a job in law enforcement, Barry. I suggest you get back to it.”

“Dad, that’s not fair.”

“Mm-hmm,” Caitlin said knowingly.

Joe shot her a look. “Don't look at me. I'm on your side.”

“Detective. We all want what's best for Barry and Grace."

"If you wanted what was best for them, you'd try to talk them out of this lunacy instead of encouraging them to go out there risking their lives.” He looked at Cisco. “I thought you’d protect--”

“Stop right there!” Grace thundered. “Don’t you _dare_ guilt trip him, dad. Cisco doesn’t control me.” She narrowed her eyes at the man who’d raised her since she was 8 years old. “No one controls me.” She put her hands on her hips. “You taught me and Iris both that.”

“Grace, I--”

“No!” she yelled.

Barry decided to try and help his sister and friend. “You saw a man control the weather. What are the police gonna do against someone like that? Since the accelerator explosion we suspect there may be more like him.”

“And you're gonna do what? Catch them? Are you insane? You think because you can run real fast and fly that you're invincible? You're not! You're just kids. My kids.”

“I'm not your kid, Joe. And you're not my father.”

“BARRY!” Grace exclaimed, paling.

“My father's sitting in Iron Heights. Wrongfully convicted. You were wrong about him. And you're wrong about this. Now I may not be able to help him, but if I can save someone from a burning building or stop some armed thieves, I'm gonna do it. And you can't stop me. So don't try.”

“You think you're so smart. All of you. But you don't know what you don't know. And I hope that you're clever enough to figure it out before somebody gets killed.”

“Stop,” Grace said. Her eyes filling with tears as she watched Joe walk out. “I said stop!”

Joe stopped and everyone looked at her. She walked to him. “Do you have any idea what it feels like to not know if you touch someone you’ll burn them up from the inside out? That if you get angry will it bust your desk at work because you can control vibrations and cause earthquakes?” She wiped her tears. “That kissing the person you love could freeze him or turn him to stone or set him on fire?”

She watched his head shake back and forth.

“I do. I’m scared of that everyday. Look, dad, I love you to the moon and stars and you know that, but Barry’s right. I have all the respect in the world for what you and Eddie do, but you can’t fight someone who can control the weather, or run at the speed of sound or even control every one of earth’s elements and it’s sub-elements.” She wiped her tears again. “If it wasn’t for me and Barry, do you realize that Mardon would have killed you or Eddie?” She walked to him. “I can’t lose you too. I just can’t.” This time she walked off.

Cisco put down his pen and stood from the desk. He walked into the medbay room and watched her pace for a few seconds. “Gracie?”

She didn’t say anything as she rushed to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and sobbed. He held her, kissing her head. “Why didn’t you tell me you were scared?”

“Because I didn’t want you to worry,” she told him. She wiped her tears and looked at him. “I know I should have, but I know you worry about me as it is and I just…I didn’t want to add to it. It would destroy me if I did any of those things, Cisco.”

“I know that, Baby,” he whispered. “I know, but I have to know when something’s frightening you. I want to know whenever you’re hurt or anything.”

She nodded. She sighed. “Do you think what Barry and I are doing is stupid?”

“No,” he answered. He walked over and got her a glass of water. “Drink that. You’re almost healed but you’re getting hoarse again. I think what you and Barry want to do is very commendable and extremely brave.”

She kissed him, long and deep. “I love you.”

“And I love you.”

She sighed. “Now,” she wiped away her tears, “if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go lecture my brother.” She exhaled and walked up to him. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

“Grace--”

“No, Caitlin, I like you, but please stay out of this.” She walked around to her brother. “How dare you?! How dare you say something like that to him. You should be ashamed of yourself!” She sighed. “That man took us both in when you and I both know he didn’t need to, but he did it for us.” She walked to her brother. “Do you have any idea, any idea the sacrifices he’s had to make--”

“What about dad?!” he yelled back.

“What about him?!” she countered. “Do you realize each and every time that we go and talk to daddy about what happened to mom he tells us both to drop it? Not once since the day that he was convicted has he ever fought back.” She saw him open his mouth and predicting what he was going to say, said, “I get it, okay? I want daddy out of there too. We both know he didn’t kill mama and for daddy that’s all he’s ever cared about. But don’t you dare take it out on Joe. He has never done anything wrong. You of all people know that a cop has to go where the evidence is leading him and that’s exactly what dad did.”

She sighed. “Barry, he loves as if we’re his. He cares about us as much as he cares about Iris.”

“I know,” he murmured.

“Then don’t ever tell him he’s not our father, because he may not have been the man who helped bring us into this world but damn it he was the one that was there for us when daddy couldn’t be. And in my book that makes him as much our father as Henry Allen is.”

She spun on her heel and walked away.

Caitlin made a face that said ‘wow’. “She was angry.”

“Oh, that wasn’t even close to angry,” Barry told them. “Trust me, I’ve seen her angry. That was our mom’s disappointment tone coming out in her.” He sighed. “I’ve disappointed one of two women in life who cares about me.”

“How are you going to get back into her good graces?” Cisco asked.

“I know my sister. We can’t stay mad at each other long.”

“If she’s mad at you will I have to prepare for retaliation?”

“Not unless you make her angry too.”

* * *

Grace walked into the police station carrying a carrier of coffees. She placed one on Joe’s desk. “Peace offering in hopes that you’re no longer angry with me?”

He looked up. “I’m not angry, Grace.”

She sighed and walked around to his side of the desk. She leaned against it and looked at him. “I know you want to protect us, Dad, but you can’t protect us from everything.” She knelt in front of him. “You and I both know that you and Eddie, and even the police force combined couldn’t have taken on Mardon.” She looked into his dark eyes. “We’re protecting our city just like you are. We’re protecting you just like you have our entire lives.” She stood and kissed the top of his head. “I love you.”

She smiled at Eddie. “Coffee from Jitters?”

“Thanks, Grace.”

“You’re welcome.” She saw Iris walk in and handed her own. “Enjoy. Coffee on me today.”

“Gracie?” She looked at Eddie and her dad who was walking away, carrying an envelope. “What’s with her?”

Eddie shrugged.

Joe went upstairs to Barry’s lab. Barry looked up. “Come to yell at me again?”

“Simon Stagg's head of security was murdered last night. The coroner took some skin samples. Hopefully they belong to the killer. See if you can find a match.”

Attempting, Barry said, “Can't be a coincidence that Stagg's benefit was attacked last night.”

“I'm going to interview Stagg now.”

“I'll come with you.”

“Your job is in here. Stay in here and do it.”

Iris walked in just as Joe was leaving, “Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, baby. Gotta go.”

“Why is my dad mad at you?”

“Work stuff,” as a way of an answer while he stood at one of his machines. “Why are you mad at me?”

“You were supposed to meet me at jitters to give me some scientific background for my article.”

“And I didn't show up.”

“And now I have to come up with a new article topic in 24 hours or I fail the assignment.”

“Iris--”

“Don't say that you're sorry. Okay, I know that you are. What I don't know is what is going on with you. We grew up one bedroom down from each other. Do you honestly think that I don't know when you're happy? Or sad or depressed or lost? I'm gonna ask you one last time, Barry Allen, and you better be honest with me. What the--”

She froze in place as he said, “You want to know what's happening. I'm fast now. God, I just want to tell you. How I feel. How you make me feel. But I can't.”

“--hell is going on with you?” There was a beeping and Barry turned to his desktop computer. “We are not done talking about this.”

He looked down at the screen, dumbfounded by what he was finding. “That's impossible. There was a murder last night. These skin cells belong to the murderer, but these cells are naive. Stem cells that they can replicate and become any cell the body needs. They only come from babies.”

“This means your killer is what, a newborn?”

Barry took his findings downstairs to show Joe and that’s when he seen the commotion. He stopped the Captain. “Captain, what’s going on?”

“Not now, Barry. An armed gunman is shooting up Stagg industries.”

“Barry’s heart stopped beating for a millisecond. “Joe's there.”

He turned and walked back upstairs, calling his sister. “Hey, it’s me. Joe’s in trouble.”

Without hesitation she said, “I’m right behind you.”

* * *

They both got to the company, seconds from each other. Grace, dressed in her full suit looked at her brother. “Get Joe out of here. I got him.”

He nodded. He sped him and came back. As he stopped he saw one of the many crew guys punch Grace. She grunted. She threw her hand up and threw the one that punched her across the room. Barry did the same with another. They started fighting them all. Grace looked at him as his punch made them replicate again. “It’s not working! The more we hit--”

One of them punched her in the gut. The wind was knocked out of her at that point. She went to her knees. They both ended up getting the shit kicked out of them. Barry grabbed her hand and sped out of there. She hit the fence and gasped. “Shit,” she muttered. “That hurts.”

“Usually does when someone punches you.”

* * *

Back at the lab, Caitlin had already patched Grace up and was now working on Barry. Grace pulled off her white jacket and looked at the exposed skin of her crop top. There was a black, blue and purple bruise forming. She touched it and hissed in pain. “Damn…”

“You okay, Babe?” Cisco looked at Barry, a lamp on his head and cleaning cloth and cleaner in his hands. “You got blood on my suit.”

“I think some of it belongs to him too.”

Grace turned to Cisco. “Babe, not cool.”

He looked at her and saw the bruise. “Did he do that to you?”

“Yeah. Trying to decide if it was a fist or a foot.”

Barry looked at them. “Let me see, Kiddo.”

She turned and they all flinched. “Ouch,” Caitlin murmured. “That looks painful.”

Barry smiled. “Nothing a hot bubble bath won’t cure.” Quite literally too. It was a known fact that water healed Grace.

She laughed and winced. “Ouch.”

He slid off the bed and walked to her. He kissed her temple. “Sorry, Kiddo.”

Wells brought up information on his tablet and swiped it up to the big screen. “Danton Black.” He sighed. “He's a bio-geneticist specialized in therapeutic cloning. Growing new organs to replace failing ones.”

Caitlin added, “Apparently Stagg stole his research and then fired him.”

Barry stood and walked toward the screen, “We saw Black create duplicates from his own body.”

That's pretty ironic. The guy specialized in cloning and now he can make xeroxes of himself,” Cisco said.

“If he was experimenting on himself when he was exposed to the dark matter wave released by the particle accelerator explosion--”

“Meet Captain clone.” They all shot him a look. “Don't worry. I'll come up with something cooler.”

Grace sighed and winced. “I’m going home,” she muttered. “I think they broke a rib or six.”

“I’m right behind you,” Barry told her.

“Where are you going?”

“Joe was right. I'm in way over my head. Yeah, I'm fast, but I am no warrior. Man, I could barely fight one meta-human, let alone six.”

“Barry. I understand. Today was a setback. But any grand enterprise has them. And we can never learn to fly without crashing a few times,” Wells told him.

“This wasn't a grand enterprise, Dr. Wells. This was a mistake.” He turned and then looked back at them. “I got my sister hurt.”

* * *

At the precinct, Joe was still trying to convince Simon Stagg to take their offer of protection. “Mr. Stagg, I wish you would reconsider our offer for protective custody. Danton Black has proven he is willing to kill, and he's got uh...friends. And trust me, they're all dangerous.”

“I've increased my security, Detective. I hope black comes looking for trouble. 'Cause he'll find plenty.”

Both Joe and Simon turned to see Wells clapping. “Spoken like a true philanthropist. Or is it humanitarian? Ah. I'm sorry. I can never remember which one you're pretending to be, Simon.”

“Harrison…” the elevator dinged. “Don't get up.”

“Ha-ha!”

Joe pointed at the closing doors of the elevator. “Another fan of yours, Doctor?”

“Can we talk, Detective?”

“So you were right. Barry's not the only one who's special. This guy that tried to kill Simon Stagg today, he could--”

“Replicate spontaneously. Yeah, we know.”

“Did you know about Barry? When he was first in his coma you came to the hospital, and you asked me if you could take him to S.T.A.R. Labs. Did you know what he could do? Or even what Grace could do?”

“I had my suspicions that he was... affected. However, Grace was a surprise.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Hey, Joe... I was never looking to become the senior member of a secret crime fighting unit. You and I both know we are the only ones equipped to protect Central City.”

“Maybe I'm more interested in protecting Barry and Grace. But of course he's all set to fly into the fire right along with you and Grace will join because she worships her brother.”

“No, he's not. I don’t think either of them will. Not anymore. He quit.” He saw the look of confusion on the man’s face. “He didn't tell you?”

“I haven't seen him. Well I'm sure it's only temporary. From what I know of Barry, when he sets his mind to something...no one's gonna talk him out of it. But the next time he suits up... Fshh! Runs headlong into danger... He will fail. Why? He doesn't think he's capable. Doubt...is his real enemy. Joe, not whatever's lurking out there. And as long as you continue to doubt him, he'll keep doubting himself.” He sighed. “And as for Grace, she got hurt today. She’s probably at home hydra-therapying herself.”

“She got hurt?”

He nodded. “Yeah. She was injured when the Meta replicated. That’s another thing that Barry feels bad about. He hurt his sister.” He looked into Joe’s eyes. “And for the record... I care about him, too. Them both actually.”

* * *

Grace slowly walked out of the bathroom, tying her robe when she heard a knock at the door. She headed for the door and peeked through the peephole. She smiled, unlocked the door and opened it. “Hi, dad.”

“Hey, Sweetheart.” He held out a small pastry box.

She stepped aside as she took it. She closed the door after him and opened the box. She smiled when she seen the chocolate cupcake sitting inside. “Nice apology, dad.”

He chuckled. “I am, sorry, Gracie.”

She put the box on the table and hugged him. “It’s okay, dad.” She sighed. “You were right. We can’t do that.”

“Yes, you can.” He took her face in his hand. “Baby, there isn’t anything in this world that you and your brother can’t do if you do it together. You’ve proven that over and over again.” He sighed as his eyes filled with tears. “The thing is I love you and your brother as much as I love Iris. You’re my kids and I will always want to protect you. There’s no way around that, but you were right too. This City needs you--needs both of you.” He exhaled. “They need you protecting it just as much as we do.”

She smiled and hugged him around his neck. “I love you.”

He smoothed a hand down her wet slick hair and whispered into her hair, “I love you too. That will never change.” He sighed. “Go get dressed. I may need your help in convincing your brother.”

She smiled. “And I may just have a way to do it.”

* * *

Iris brought Barry a glass of water. “Guess you were hungry.”

He cleared his mouth enough to say, “Stress eating.”

“Ah.”

“I came to say I'm sorry. And you're right. I have been distant.”

“Correct.”

“Kind of a jerk.”

She smiled. “You should apologize more often. You are really sensational at it.”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm. So...what were you going to tell me the other day?”

“I thought I had to do something. Something I thought was important, but it turns out that I'm not very good at it. But what I am good at is being your friend. So if you need help coming up with a new topic for your article--”

She turned to him, excited. “I found one. Something that actually interests me.” She stood and walked to her laptop. “I know this is gonna sound crazy...it's been all over the internet this week. At a building fire...at a bank heist...even the other night when those robbers shot at the security guard, he said he was whooshed outside. Something out there is saving people.”

“I thought you were taking journalism. Not science fiction writing.” His heart hammered in his chest. _She was going to write about them!_

“Ever since I have known you you have believed in the impossible. What if you were right? What if you were right about the night that your mom died?”

His phone vibrated and he stepped away. He answered, “I told you I’m through.”

“I know, but you need to get to S.T.A.R. Labs right now.”

* * *

He got to the Lab to see Danton Black standing there. He rushed to him and Caitlin immediately said, “Barry, it's okay.”

“It is not okay. Black is here, and he's just...standing there.” He looked at the team confused. “That's not him, is it?”

“It's one of his replicates,” Wells informed him.

“How did you get it?”

“I grew him,” Caitlin told him. “I isolated a sample of Black's blood from you suit to see if I could trigger the in vitro cultivation process and learn how Black multiplies. So I exposed the target cells to a protein gel, and they began replicating...into that. Why isn't he…” he waved his hand in front of the duplicate’s face. “…it doing anything?”

“We did a brain scan. Involuntary motor functions are active, little else.”

“We think it's acting as a receiver,” Cisco told him.

“The clones are an empty shell without Black. Shut down the real Black, and you might shut them all down.”

“But how do we know which one's the real Danton Black?”

“That occurred to me given your own passing out. Black has limits, just like you. Controlling all of those clones must require a tremendous amount of physical strength. So, look for the one showing signs of weakness or fatigue. He's the prime.”

“Just a theory...but one you might want to put to the test, Mr. Allen,” Wells said.

“Plus, I whipped up these high- calorie protein bars for you to keep your metabolism up.” Cisco held one out to him.

Barry chuckled as Caitlin screamed. As they looked, the clone was now functioning. Then there was gunshots.

“Any more of them?” Joe demanded.

“Nope.”

“What in the hell?” Grace asked coming into the Cortex.

Barry turned to Wells. “Why did it start moving?”

“The prime. My guess is, the prime is on the move. This one heard the summons to battle.”

“And I know where he was summoned to. Stagg Industries.” He looked at Barry.

“You should call it in.”

“Police can't fight this. What Black's become, like Mardon...beyond me. Maybe way beyond them, too. The only two people it's not beyond is you and your sister.”

“But I hurt her.”

“No, you didn’t,” Grace told him. “Look, I know I’ve spent most my childhood trying to follow you around, but do you know why I was willing to do this with you?”

He shook his head.

“Yes, I worship you and I love you. You’re my best friend. You’re my big brother, but that’s not why. I’m doing this because I believe in you, Barry.” She took his hand. “I believe in us.” She smiled. “It’s like mom always said, there’s nothing in this world we can’t accomplish if we do it together.”

Barry turned to Joe and he said, “You gotta do this. I get it. So for once in your life, do what I tell you to do. Go stop him.”

He looked at her. “You ready to do this?”

She nodded. “Whenever you are, big brother.”

* * *

They got to Stagg Industries and Barry put Simon in his office and ordered him to stay put. He came back down and helped Grace. “I know Stagg stole your research, but that doesn't give you the right to murder."

They fought the Black duplicates. One of the duplicates took a hold of Grace and slammed her through the floor. Thanks to her quick thinking of which power, she went through the floor. She came back up and slammed the duplicates head into the floor. She straightened. “Asshole.”

She started walking away when one of them grabbed her and threw her over the railing. She stopped herself from falling by enacting her flight power. She went down and they both watched as Black duplicated himself with more. She sighed. “Oh, man…”

“You still with me, Kiddo?”

“To the end, B.”

They started fighting all the duplicates, but soon it was too much and they had to get out. They got outside. “There’s too many of them. It’s impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible, Barry. You taught me that.”

Grace looked at him. “You can do this.” She took his hand. “We…can do this.”

He nodded. He ran back into the building and she jet-propelled to the building. At the Lab, Cisco was amazed. “Wow…they are seriously each other’s strength.”

Joe nodded. “Always have been. Ever since that night…they’ve depended on each other a lot more than they care to admit.” He looked at Cisco. “You gonna be okay with them that close?”

“Of course,” he answered. “She needs her family just as much as I need her.”

Joe stared at him for a long moment and then smiled. “Good answer.”

After they took down Black and he committed suicide in Barry’s attempt to save him, they went back to the Lab. Grace changed out of her suit and looked down at her ribs. Cisco came into the room. “Doesn’t look so bad, does it?”

“The bath helped.” She walked to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you.”

He kissed her deeply. “I love you.”

* * *

Grace walked into Barry’s lab and smiled. She loved seeing Joe and Barry like this. Enjoying each other’s company. “What’s up?”

Joe smiled. “Hey, Sweetheart. Glad you could come.”

“It’s okay. Cisco has to work late.” She sat down. “What do you need my help with?”

“We need your brain,” Barry told her. “And your amazing powers of deduction.”

“To do what?” she asked.

“Finding out what or who killed mom.”

Joe tapped his temple. “I need you to use your Forensic Psychology and help us figure it out.”

She nodded. She picked up a piece of pizza and took a bite. “I’m in.”


	5. Family Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a fluffy family chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know how much some of you love Grace and Cisco together, however, after some careful thought and consideration I have decided to go with my original plan when I came up with this series of stories and break them up, I'm sorry.
> 
> The break up is for Grace's character development. She will say it later either in this story or the next why. Grace will stay single for a while. She needs it for herself.
> 
> I know there is mention of Carter (from my previous revision of this story) in this chapter, but trust me you won't see him as a regular character for awhile.

When Cisco got out of his car he heard the upbeat popular song and smiled. Grace did say when they got together there was always food and music.

Cisco and Eddie walked up on the porch of the West house at the same time. Cisco smiled. “You as nervous as I am?”

“Maybe more. Their dad is my partner.”

Cisco nodded. “Right. You take it then.” He knocked. After a few minutes and a couple of more knocks there was no answer. Cisco tested the knob and walked in the house. He smiled as he saw what had prevented someone from answering the door, Joe was taken in by the sight of his kids dancing to the Jackson 5’s I Want You Back.

As they did a line dance combination, Iris had messed up and the 3 of them started laughing. Grace looked over and saw Cisco and Eddie. She walked over to Cisco. “Hey, Baby.” She kissed him.

Iris walked over to Eddie and greeted him. Grace pulled back and smiled at Cisco. “Come dance with us.”

“I’m not very good.”

She smiled. “That’s okay. Neither are we really.” She looked around. “Where’s Caitlin? I invited her too.”

“She said she was right behind me,” Cisco told her. “She stopped off somewhere.”

Barry smiled. “There she is, Gracie.”

She looked up to see Caitlin walking in carrying a pastry box. She walked to her and took the box. She hugged her. “Thanks for coming.”

“Thanks for having me,” she said and pulled her jacket off. “It’s cheesecake. I didn’t know what toppings or anything so I got it plain.”

She smiled. “Thank you. However for future reference, you never have to bring anything when you’re invited to dinner.” She smiled as she watched Eddie stumble on his feet trying to learn the dance Iris was teaching him. She rushed over to help her sister with her boyfriend. “You good?” she asked.

“Yeah, thanks, Grace.”

“You’re welcome.”

Joe looked up and smiled. “Hey, the gang’s all here!”

“Hello, Detective--”

“Call me Joe,” he told everyone. “I think with you dating my youngest and you’re friends with both my kids,” he said to both Cisco and Caitlin. “That I think you can do that.”

“Thank you.”

Joe walked to Grace and took the pastry box from her. “I’ll take this. Go help your sister.”

Grace nodded and walked over to Iris and a struggling Eddie. She fell into the steps and began teaching him. When the song finished and another song--this one was Annie Lennox’s Walking on Broken Glass--started, Eddie stepped away. Caitlin, Eddie, Cisco and Joe watched the siblings as they began the moves that they had come up with for the song years before.

Eddie looked at Joe. “Where did they learn to do that?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. From each other. When Barry and Grace came to live here Grace had closed herself off so much that it was a struggle to get her to come out. Iris dancing with her helped pull her out of it. Then to distract Barry from Henry being in prison they pulled him in and…” he waved his hands in front of him pointing at his children.

Cisco smiled and walked around the living room. In frames everywhere was Barry and Grace’s life with the Wests. He stopped when he seen a graduation photo of Grace with some guy who wore glasses and wore dark gray colored graduation gown to her purple one. He looked over his shoulder and looked at Iris and Joe. “Hey, Joe, Iris, who is this?”

Joe smiled. “Ahh…that’s Grace’s Iris.”

Iris laughed.

“What?” he asked.

“That’s Grace’s best friend since like kindergarten. Carter Stephens.” Joe looked at the photo. “He helped her through a lot, especially with what happened to Nora and Henry.” He exhaled. “It’s too bad that he got that job in New York--”

“Actually, he’s not working there anymore,” Grace said as she approached the 3 of them as Caitlin joined.

Joe looked at her. “Where is he?”

“Um…last that we emailed which was about a week ago he said he was in Germany or something. He owns his own business now.” She smiled with pride. “He’s a multimillionaire now.”

“Wasn’t he supposed to be at the Particle Accelerator event?” Iris asked.

She nodded. “Yeah. However, his plane was late, so…”

“Did you tell me about him?”

She nodded. “I did,” she said confidently. “Remember me talking to you about CJ Stephens, my childhood best friend?”

He nodded. He looked back at the photo. “This is him?”

She nodded. “That’s him. I was the only one besides his parents who called him CJ.”

“Oh! I didn’t even place it. Sorry.”

She shook her head. “Don’t be. I’ve never shown you pictures of him or anything. You wouldn’t have known.”

There was a loud buzzing and Grace turned. “Dinner’s done!” she announced and took off for the kitchen.

* * *

When she came back in carrying the pot roast, everything else was laid out on the dining table while everyone was seated around it. Even the wine had been poured. She sat down after placing the roast in the middle of the table. Joe stood as he said, “Before we eat, there’s something I want to say.” He cleared his throat.

“Nine months ago, I didn’t think that two people in our makeshift family would be sitting here today,” he said. “However, Cisco, Caitlin, you two and Dr. Wells, made it possible for this family to be whole again. So on the behalf of me and my daughter I would like to say, thank you for helping our family to stay whole. We appreciate it beyond words.” He sighed, “And Cisco, thank you for loving Gracie and showing her that she is worth a lot more than what that douche bag of an ex was showing her she could be.”

They cheered that and drank. Grace looked at her dad. “Thanks, dad.”

“You’re welcome.” He waved in front of him. “Now, let’s eat.”

With that the clamoring of dishes and silverware filled the room as everyone began getting themselves a helping of the dinner.


	6. Things You Can't Outrun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get toxic when a new meta hits town.
> 
> Grace and Cisco hit a snag
> 
> Grace discovers something new with her powers.

Grace walked into Jitters, where Barry was going to meet Iris and walked up to her brother. “What was so urgent that it couldn’t have waited until tomorrow after your friend-date with Iris? I got an all-nighter at CCPN.”

“The fact that she’s going to be writing a blog about us.”

She was surprised, but not shocked. He studied her for a moment. “You’re not shocked by that?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Don’t you think we should try to talk her out of it?”

“Why? I think it’s good for everyone all around. She’s writing, the people of Central City get heard and they know we’re out there helping the cops protect them.” She shrugged. “Sounds like a win for everyone to me.” She folded her arms over her chest and said, “What we should be worrying about is the fact that we have no hand-to-hand fighting experience and we got our asses handed to us the other night.”

He looked down. She got his attention. “I think we need to learn to fight without our powers and then figure out how to incorporate both.” She sighed softly. “I think that would be mutually beneficial for both of us, B.”

He looked into her eyes. She was right. It probably would be. “You’re right. I wouldn’t even know who to ask. There’s only one other person who knows about us, Gracie.”

She knew exactly who he was talking about. The Arrow. “You know he’s not a bad option. He is one the best fighters in the world. He could probably show us some good techniques.”

He scoffed. Iris approached the table. “Hey, Gracie, you coming with us?”

She shook her head. “No. As much fun as it would be to watch a zombie eat someone’s brains, I can’t. Got an all-nighter at work.” She kissed his cheek. “Talk later.” She hugged Iris. “Love you, guys.”

“Love you,” they said in unison.

* * *

Barry and Iris walked out of the movie theater, Iris is still eating her popcorn as they are strolling away from the building. “Regular movie scale, that was a seven or an eight. Zombie movie scale, it was, like, a four, tops.”

“There's a zombie movie scale?”

Barry nodded, then said enthusiastically, “Did you know that zombies exist in nature?”

Iris smiled as she listened to him chatter on. It was so fun to hear him talk about this stuff.

“There's a species of fungi that infects ants, causing the ants to attack plants that can release spores which in turn infect new hosts. I'm going full nerd again, aren't I?”

“Yep. Yeah. Yeah. It's okay though. You are still the cutest nerd that I know.”

If Grace was there with them she’d point out the look on his face later when she said that--crushed a little inside.

“Anyways, I'm a lot more interested in the amazing as of late.”

“You mean 'cause of this “streak” thing and that amazing flying lady?”

“They’re out there. People are talking about them.”

“How do you even know he’s a he or she’s a she? Maybe it's reversed.”

“It's a man, okay? A man and a woman. You know I am really intuitive about this kind of stuff. Someone even posted a picture after being yanked from a car accident. It's a red blur leaving the scene. Here, what do you see?” She held up her phone.

All Barry could see though was the picture that Iris took of Eddie on the screen telling him he was calling. “I see your boyfriend's calling.”

She turned it back to facing her. “Oh, I should probably get this. I'm crashing at his place tonight, and he's supposed to leave a key for me somewhere,” she explained. She answered the call, “Hey, babe. What's up? Not much, just hanging out with Barry. You off yet?”

Barry’s phone rang, almost thankful, he answered, “Hello.”

“Code 237 on Waid Boulevard.”

He couldn’t be serious. “Public indecency?”

“Wait, I think I meant a 239.”

“Dog leash violation?”

Seeing Cisco struggling with the codes, Caitlin came over and slapped the comm microphone, “Bad man with a gun in a getaway car. Go.” She released it and then said, “You’re on your own. Grace is working late.”

“I know,” he replied.

Cisco answered, “She’s been putting in a lot of hours because she’s hearing rumors that the editor is willing to make cuts if he has to.”

Barry knew that, but he let Cisco say it. He got to the scene to see the cops being shot at by the man in the pickup truck. He sped ahead and started doing his thing.

* * *

The next morning, after 4 hours of sleep, Grace got up at her usual time, 7am to start her day. Her first stop since her late nights at CCPN was to get a large very caffeinated drink. She walked out and held out a cup to her brother as he stopped in front of her. “Good morning,” she said with a smile.

“Good morning,” he said smiling in return. “Missed you at the movies, Kiddo.” He smiled. “And with the robber I caught last night.”

She smiled. “And I wanted to be there, I just…I have to show my boss that I’m serious about this job, B.”

“I know.” He kissed the top of her head. “And I’m not blaming you, Kiddo. Didn’t mean to make you feel terrible.” He smiled. “Thanks for the coffee.”

“Sure,” she said and looked at her watch. She sighed. “I gotta go. My job beckons again.” She kissed his cheek and left.

He sighed and headed in the direction of the precinct. He walked into the building, onto the elevator and walked out of the car, onto his floor. He heard the 2 cops he helped last night telling the story to the others.

“Where'd you cut him off?”

“So we cut him off at eighth. I mean, the perp was in the backseat of the cruiser before he even knew what happened.”

Joe stopped the duo to congratulate them. “Congratulations, Paulson, on that arrest last night. Hell of a job.”

Paulson said over his shoulder as he and his partner kept walking, “You come by later, Joe. I'll give you a driving lesson, okay?”

Barry approached his foster father. “Wasn't even him last night. It was me.”

“I figured. I just didn't realize you were helping people for the glory,” he said as they climbed the stairs.

“It's not like I want a museum built in my name. Keeping what I can do a secret from Iris and everyone, it's harder than I thought.”

“I know, but it is safer that way. Besides, me and you got work to do.”

They walked into Barry’s lab and Joe placed the box of Nora’s evidence on table with a thud. “The evidence from my mom's case.”

“I had it brought up from storage.”

“I've been through this box 1,000 times.”

“Before, your story about what really happened that night... the lightning storm, the man in the middle of it... I thought that was a kid trying to protect his father from prison. But now that I know it's true, we're gonna go through every scrap of evidence until we find something that helps us.”

“It took the jury 52 minutes to come back with a verdict of guilty.”

“They moved too fast, which is why we got to take our time. And your sister said she’d join us when she could get away, but with things at work.”

“I know.”

Eddie walked in. “Barry, Joe, we got multiple homicides. Do you know the Darbinyan crime family?”

* * *

After leaving the crime scene of the upper level management of the Darbinyan crime family, Barry and Joe dropped off the evidence into Barry’s lab and headed to S.T.A.R. Labs. On the way there, Barry called Grace at work.

 _“Grace Allen,”_ came her harried response.

“Hey, Kiddo. We may have another meta. Can you meet Joe and I at the Lab to talk to the rest of the team?”

She rubbed her eyes with her fingers. “I think I need to. I’m starting to see double. Meet you there.”

She got to the Lab just as Barry and Joe were pulling in. The 3 of them walked in together. Barry told them what they potentially had.

“Fascinating, a meta-human that can manipulate poison gas,” Wells muttered, in awe of the possiblity.

Cisco walked out of one of the rooms. “Is it just poisonous gas, or can he control all aerated substances?” He walked to Grace and kissed her. “Good morning. You were gone by the time I had gotten up.”

She nodded. “I know. Sorry.”

“And how is he able to formulate the connection? Is it physiological or psychological?” Caitlin asked walking to the computers.

“This individual can create a mental nexus using gaseous substances.”

Joe and Barry exchanged a look and then looked at Grace.

“You mean connect with gases on a molecular level?” Cisco questioned.

“Yes.”

“That is ridiculously cool.”

“They get really excited about this stuff.”

“Yeah,” Grace said sarcastically.

Joe said, “The only thing I'm excited about is putting criminals behind bars. Except Iron Heights isn't exactly equipped to handle meta-humans.”

“Then I guess it's fortunate the ones you've encountered so far are no longer with us.”

“Well, unless we're planning on executing every super criminal we stop, you geniuses are gonna have to come up with someplace else to hold them.”

“A meta-human prison,” Cisco said matter-of-factly. He smiled. “Sweet.”

“Until we figure a way to remove their powers.”

Their was a small pause. “There is one place here that might hold them,” Cisco finally said.

“You can't be serious. I mean, we haven't been down there since... it's cordoned off.”

Wells spoke, “Cisco is right. It could be modified to act as a makeshift prison.”

Catching on, despite being tired, Grace said, “Are you sure you’re all going to be okay with that…after everything?”

“What could?” Barry asked.

“The particle accelerator,” Wells said.

Grace looked over at Caitlin and she didn’t look too happy about it. She looked at Cisco and Wells, “Are you sure you would be able to do that?”

Wells smiled reassuringly. “We should be fine, Ms. Allen.” He looked at Cisco and in Caitlin’s direction. “Come on. Let’s head down there.”

Grace looked at the pretty brunette and stepped to her brother. Wells got her attention and told her they were heading for the Particle Accelerator. Barry felt Grace tug on his shirt in a signal. He piped up, “Actually, Dr. Wells, I could use Caitlin's help identifying the poison gas.”

“Okay,” Wells agreed.

“If that's okay with you?” Barry asked.

“Let's go.”

“I could go with you, Doctor Wells, if you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.”

She stopped Caitlin. “Hey, if you ever need to talk…I’m here. I may not know totally what you’re going through, but…I can always listen.”

She smiled and hugged her. “Thanks. I’ll remember that.”

* * *

The circular door opened, a mechanical whirring sound filling the room. Grace walked up next to Cisco as they started walking forward. “The copper in the tube is arranged to form cavities, and we can use those cavities as containment cells. Of course, we'll have to design them to counteract meta-human abilities, but... might just work.”

“I could upgrade the biometric software and put Barry and I in there? And maybe upgrade the security software with Cisco’s help.”

He looked up at her. “That sounds great, Grace. First, we have to decouple the main injection system on the gantry level. I'll be right back.”

“Why don't I do that?” Cisco said quickly.

“I need the exercise.”

Grace watched Cisco as he seemed to have zoned out into a memory or something. He pulled out of and she took his hand. “Hey, you okay?”

He pulled his hand free and said, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

She eyed him suspiciously. He was lying. She could feel something was wrong with him. “Okay,” she said finally. Growing up with Joe and Barry she knew when to back off for now. She simply said, “I’m here.”

“Must be hard, coming back down here,” Wells replied softly. “A lot happened that night. If you feel the need to talk…”

Snapping out of whatever was bothering him, he said, “I was just thinking, we need to nail those voltage calculations. One fault, and the helium blowback could damage the mountings.”

“Smart.”

Grace and Wells eyed each other. They both knew he was evading whatever was wrong. They heard the alarm and Grace and Cisco rushed out of the area and up into the cortex. “I put a tracker on anything that resembled the poison guy and we’ve got something at the mall.”

She nodded. She quickly dressed and flew out at jet speed. She got to the mall seconds after Barry. He looked at her. “Be careful.”

“You too.”

“I patched into the mall's security system,” Cisco said through their comm. “According to witnesses, the gas attack was in the main elevator in the north wing.”

“Which one is the north wing?”

“The one with The Big Belly Burger,” Wells said into the microphone.

Grace smirked at her brother. “He’s right. However, I wasn’t aware a doctor of his caliber was into greasy fast food.”

Cisco looked at him flabbergasted.

“I eat.” He then leaned into the mic. “Name when and I’ll go with you, Grace.”

“Sounds like a plan.” She looked around and saw the puff of green smoke. “There!” she said.

Barry looked and saw the green smoke waft out of a swinging door. They both took off. “Why did you kill that woman?”

The bald-headed man turned, wheezing. “She deserved to die. Now go run away. I still have one more name on my list. Don't make me add you to it.”

Barry ran forward and tried to punch him, but he smoked out. The man came back to human form and punched Barry and then Grace a couple of times before smoking out and punching them both.

However, strangely as his gas was affecting Barry it didn’t seem to have the same affect on Grace. She had no idea why. He went into human form and stared at her in shock and then smoked out again and began going into Barry’s body.

Without knowing exactly what to do she took a deep breath and blew a bunch of air out. The smoke left. Barry looked at his sister and took off running. Grace went after him. She was again seconds behind him as he collapsed into the computer table. “Can’t….breathe,” he wheezed.

“He needs oxygen! Get the crash cart!”

“Get him in med,” Grace told them.

Cisco looked her up and down. She looked at him. “Cisco, I love you, but move!”

He ran. She put Barry’s arm around her shoulders and fumbled him to his feet. “Damn,” she muttered. “Dead weight. He weighs a ton.” She carried him into the medical room. She laid him on the bed and stepped back.

“Barry!” Caitlin exclaimed rushing into the room. “Barry.”

“Cut me open. The poison's still in me,” he wheezed out.

“He brought us a sample. Caitlin, we need to do a pulmonary biopsy, extract an active portion of that gas.”

“I can't give you any anesthetic. Your metabolism will burn right through it,” Caitlin told him.

“I heal quick, remember?”

Grace walked to her brother. She took his hand and looked at Caitlin. “Do it.”

“Cisco, give me the syringe. This is gonna hurt a lot.”

“It's a small needle,” Cisco attempted to reassure him. “You probably won't even feel it.”

“You're definitely going to feel it.”

She stabbed it into his chest and Barry bucked off the bed. Grace held on.

Once Barry was settled, Grace looked at Caitlin. “We need to test me.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because I was breathing in the same gas and it wasn’t affecting me,” she told them. “Like at all.”

* * *

Caitlin looked at the results of Grace’s tests and huffed in surprise. Grace looked at her. “What?”

“It didn’t affect you at all.” She looked at her. “It would seem you’re completely immuned to whatever that gas is.”

Grace walked to her and took the results page. “Are you serious?” She looked through it. There it was in black and white. The results of that told her she was immuned to poisonous gases. “Holy…shit.”

Barry came to. Cisco smiled at him. “The Streak lives.”

“You'd be dead if your lung cells didn't regenerate so quickly,” Caitlin told him, worry still in her features.

“My chest feels like that one time I had a cigarette.”

Grace laughed, while Caitlin looked surprised.

He smiled. “Yeah, teen me lived for danger.”

“Oh, yeah, Big Brother, you’re a real Evel Knievel.”

He chuckled. Caitlin looked at him. “This isn't funny. You could've…”

“I didn't,” he told her. He looked at Grace. “How come you weren’t sick?”

“Well, interestingly enough it would seem that I’m immuned to it.”

“You’re what?”

She nodded. “I know I was surprised by it too.”

“Now that we have a sample, we'll get to work analyzing it, figure out the makeup of the poison, maybe get a clue as to his human identity,” Wells told everyone.

“Or at least a way to stop him from turning into a mist,” Cisco added. He smiled. “The Mist. Okay, that's his name. End of discussion.”

“I have to get to the station.”

“You should be resting,” Caitlin insisted.

“I have to talk to Joe.”

“I’m coming too,” Grace told him.

“Good,” he said.

* * *

Grace looked at her brother. “I got a question.”

“I might have an answer,” he said with a smile.

“I know it’s a guy thing and everything, but tell me why does Cisco insist that I tell him everything that’s bothering me, but he won’t talk to me about what’s bothering him?”

“Ahh…the Josh problem.”

She sighed. “This isn’t the Josh problem.” She just looked out the windshield of her car.

Barry looked over from his spot in the passenger seat and realized it was really bothering her. “It’s really bothering you, isn’t it?”

She nodded. “I mean, if he wants me to tell him, doesn’t he think I deserve the same thing?”

He nodded. “You do deserve the same thing. However, you need to realize that not everyone is Carter.”

“Carter?” she asked. “What’s he got to do with this?”

“Everything,” he answered as she pulled onto the road that the precinct was on. He looked at his sister. “Kiddo, you’re so used to me and Carter telling you everything that you’re not used to someone not doing it. It’s a foreign concept.”

“But it should be different when you’re in a relationship,” she said as she pulled up to the curb and parallel parked.

He nodded. “You’re right. It should, but it isn’t.” He got out of the car at the same time as his sister. “Look, Gracie, Cisco loves you--”

“I know he loves me,” she said. “That’s not the problem.” She exhaled and started walking with him. “Never mind.”

“No, no, no,” Barry said to her. “This is me. You don’t get to blow me off.”

She sighed. “All I’m saying is I deserve the same respect he wants me to give him. I know something’s bothering him but he won’t…”

Barry looked into her eyes and saw the pain there. She wanted to be able to help him, to have him open up to her. He pulled her into a hug and murmured, “Then talk to him, Kiddo. Tell him how you’re feeling.”

She nodded. “You’re right.”

They head inside and go upstairs to Barry’s lab. They walk in to see Joe looking at a file. “Joe, we had him.” They stopped in front of him. “The meta-human. We were wrong. He's not controlling airborne toxins. He can literally transform himself into poison gas. That's new.”

“Yeah, and here’s something else that’s new,” Grace said. “I’m immuned.”

“You’re immuned?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Barry and I went to the location and while it was affecting him it wasn’t doing anything to him. Apparently my physiology is now immuned to toxic gases.”

“That’s new, but could work to our advantage.” He held up the folder in his hands. “The victim was a judge. We're going through some of her old cases to see if there's a connection.”

Feeling defeated Barry said, “It's too late. I should have been faster.”

“Barry, don’t do that,” Grace told him. “She was trapped inside that elevator, it wouldn’t have mattered.”

“Focus on the job. Don't think about that right now.”

He walked to another part of the room and muttered, “You don't want to know what I'm thinking about.”

Grace and Joe looked at each other. She folded her arms over her chest. Barry continued, “My dad has spent 14 years in a 6x8-foot cell for a crime he didn't commit. I couldn't save my mom, but I can save him.”

Knowing exactly what he was saying Grace said, “Barry, you can’t!”

He turned to her. “Doesn’t it make you angry--”

“Damn straight it makes me angry,” she told him. “It makes me angry that anyone who knew our parents and how much they loved each other would _ever_ think that Daddy would hurt her that way. It makes me angry that because his doctor brain kicked in that he’s spent fourteen years in prison for murdering our mother when we all know that he didn’t . It pisses me off that he wasn’t there, couldn’t be there.”

Joe looked at her for a moment. He saw the tears there and noted that it wasn’t all for Henry. Something was bothering her. He looked between them both. “Didn't I promise you that we would get your father out of prison together?”

“I don't need your help, Joe. I could be in and out of there with him before anyone even sees me.”

She walked to her brother and reached for his hand. “Don’t be so stupid!” she said. “You can’t do something like that.”

“Okay. You break him out of there. Then what? He's on the run for the rest of his life. And something tells me he's not as fast as you are.”

“Not to mention I lose both of you,” Grace told him. “I lose daddy all over again and I…lose you too.” She looked into his eyes. “I need you, Barry. You, Joe and Iris have always been the constant things in my life.”

He looked into her eyes. “I get that, Kiddo, but you don't know what it's like there.”

“It’s prison, Barry. It’s not supposed to be a four-star resort,” Grace told him. “Besides, don’t play that off like I’m eight all over again and need to have the truth padded before you give it to me.”

Joe looked into his eyes. “You think I don't understand what you're feeling? I have been a cop for almost as long as you've been alive. So you should know, putting on that suit does not make everybody safe. For every person you save, there's gonna be somebody you can't. And the hardest thing you're gonna have to face is not some monster out there with powers. It's gonna be that feeling of uselessness when you can't do anything. Or the guilt that weighs on you when you make a mistake. Some things, guys, you can't fight. Some things you just have to live with.”

Grace looked at the man who had raised them and sighed. He was hurting too. It hurt to know not only was he wrong but that he had sent a friend to prison, a friend who had done nothing wrong. But she had heard what he was telling them for another problem of hers. Her phone rang and she looked at the caller ID. “It’s Iris.” She answered, “Hey, Sis.”

“Hey, Gracie. Do you think you could meet me? I need to talk.”

She looked at the time and answered, “Absolutely. Ten minutes?”

“Perfect. Do you want me to order anything?”

“Just my usual.” She hung up the phone and looked at both Barry and Joe. “Gotta go. Iris needs to talk.” She kissed both of their cheeks and walked out.

* * *

Grace walked into Jitters and scanned the dining area for her sister. She smiled when she found her sitting at a table waiting for her. She walked over to her and sat down. She smiled. “It feels like forever since we had one of our talks.”

Iris smiled. “I know.” She sighed. “So, Eddie wants me to tell dad about us.”

She picked up her cappuccino and sipped. “Why haven’t you?”

She sighed and put her coffee down too. “Have you ever been with a guy and had this deep sinking feeling that if you let everyone that you’ll like wake up and realize that the good you had wasn’t real?”

She nodded. “I have. With Cisco.” She looked at her. “Iris, Eddie loves you and if he could he’d announce it from the rooftops. He didn’t tell dad about you guys when you started dating because you asked him not to, but you know what? I agree with Eddie. It’s time to tell him, because if he finds out another way you and I both know he’ll be more angry and upset that _you_ didn’t say anything.” She reached for her hand. “I know it’s scary to dive in, but you know what? Sometimes doing that can have the greatest outcome.”

Iris smiled. “How is it that you’re so young and have such great advice?”

She laughed. “It’s easy to give others advice but to have yourself follow it…whole other story.”

Iris looked at the girl she considered a sister. “Talk to me. What’s up?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m oversensitive because I haven’t slept much--”

“Just tell me and then I’ll you if you’re being foolish or not.”

She took a deep breath and began. “I think Cisco and I have hit our first snag.” She exhaled and started telling her that he won’t open up. That he won’t talk to her, but he wants her to do the same with him.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Iris told her. “Did you talk to him about it?”

“Not yet,” she told her. “We haven’t seen much of each other this week.”

“Well, keep me posted. I’ll talk to Eddie and let you know.”

She nodded. “Sounds good. I should get to the office. I have some photos and stuff to edit.”

* * *

The next morning, Grace went to Barry. “I was thinking this morning while sitting in my office.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“Cisco won’t let me help him, but maybe Caitlin will.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s scared to go into the particle accelerator. My future may have begun, but hers died that night. Ronnie died. The love of her life died that night, Barry. She’s scared.” She looked into his eyes. “I think we can help her.”

He nodded. “Let’s go.”

They got to the lab and walked into where Caitlin sat trying to find the courage to walk into the hole. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, leaving like that.”

“It's okay. I get it. You had to go. It's just... that's the last thing that Ronnie said to me that night.”

They fell silent for a moment. “Our mother died 14 years ago. I used to think that the further away I got from it, the less it would hurt. But some days, the pain, it's worse than the day that it happened.” He exhaled. “And sometimes looking at my sister makes the pain worse.”

“Barry!”

Grace shook her head. “It’s okay, Caitlin. He’s told me that before. I’m the spitting image of my mother. I can see that every time I look in the mirror. And I’m proud of it, but he’s right, sometimes it’s hard.” She took a breath, to try and not cry. “I was almost nine years old when she died. We were going to go dress shopping for my party that weekend.” She looked at her friend. “No one knows how quickly one decision can change your entire life..forever.”

Barry nodded. “Some things you can't fight.”

She looked up toward the entrance to the particle accelerator. “For so long, I've been terrified of going into that hole.”

“What if we went with you?” Barry asked.

Caitlin looked at Grace. “You’d do that?”

She nodded. “Yeah, absolutely. In a second.” She turned and faced her. “Look, Caitlin, I know we had a rocky start to this friendship, but I consider you a friend.” She smiled. “I always wanted to be your friend. So, if you want to Barry and I will go in there with you and if you need me to I will hold your hand through it.” She pushed a strand of hair out of Caitlin’s face. “And all you have to do is say the word and we’re out of there. No questions asked.”

She smiled and nodded. “Okay.”

They walked down the corridor that led to the device. They walked into the room that was the entrance. Caitlin walked up the ramp and then stopped. Grace figured it was because she was remembering the night that Ronnie died. She gave her a few minutes and then walked up the ramp, stood beside her and took her hand in a gesture of solidarity, to let her know she was there for her.

“He saved so many lives that day, and no one will ever know what he did,” she murmured.

“We do,” Barry told her.

“I know this won’t make a difference, but he was a hero.”

Caitlin turned to her and she saw the tears that were now streaming down her face. “I didn't want him to be a hero. I wanted him to be my husband.”

Grace didn’t say anything, just wrapped her arms around her in a comforting hug. When she finally did she said, “I know. I know you did and from what you have told us about him he would have loved to be your husband.”

They stood there in silence as Grace held her, murmuring that it was okay to grief for Ronnie and for what she lost that night. Cisco broke the moment when he came over the PA: “Barry, Caitlin, you down there?”

“Grace is down here too.”

“You got to come look at this.”

They went upstairs and Cisco said, “Hey, check this out. It's a 3D molecular model of the gas we retrieved from your lungs.” He turned to Grace and kissed her. “Hey, Babe.”

“Hey.”

“We have identified the toxin.”

“Hydrogen cyanide?”

“What's interesting is what's mixed in with the cyanide...a sedative.”

“Wait a minute,” Grace murmured. She looked at her brother and in unison they said, “Of course.”

Barry looked at Caitlin. “The night of the explosion, find out if anyone was executed.”

“Why?” Wells asked.

“Because that’s not a normal combination of substances,” Grace told him and turned to help Caitlin.

Barry explained, “That sedative is given to criminals on death row before they go to the gas chamber and breathe in hydrogen cyanide.”

“That's right.”

“There was someone executed.”

“Put it on screen, please?” Grace requested.

She did as she asked and continued, “Kyle Nimbus.”

“That's him,” the siblings said in unison.

“He was a hit man for the Darbinyan crime family,” Caitlin continued. “They turned on him and testified.”

“Well that explains why they were the first hit,” she said. “Who was the judge?”

“Judge Theresa Howard was the judge at his trial. She sentenced him to death.”

“He must have been affected by the explosion while he was being gassed.”

Cisco added, “Records indicate the execution was completed.”

“That's why there wasn't a match. The DNA database only has records of the living.”

“Right.”

Grace’s heart thudded in her chest. She came to her brother she said, “Wait a minute. He said there was one more person on his hit list.” She looked at Caitlin again. “Find out who arrested him. That could be his next attack.”

She clicked away on the keys. “Barry, Grace, the lead detective…”

Grace’s heart thudded. “No…”

Barry took her hand and they went to change.

* * *

Outside the prison the Allen siblings psyched themselves up. Barry looked at her. “Since you’re immuned you take lead and I’ll follow you.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll protect Joe. You get Nimbus. Remember, Joe taught you and Iris both self-defense. At least to get away from an attacker. Use it.”

She nodded. They went inside the prison and went to the visiting area. They got inside to the visiting center and saw Joe convulsing on the floor. Grace looked up at her father who was behind the glass and asked, “Where’d he go?”

“Up through the vent,” he told her.

She nodded. She tapped her comm on her chest. “Where does the vent that is in the visiting center lead to?” She listened and looked at her brother. “I’m going to go get him.”

“Go,” he said, his voice vibrating.

She jet-propelled herself and found him outside, just casually walking out of the prison area. She stopped in front of him. “Nimbus.”

“Ahh…you’re the one immuned to me.”

“It would seem that way, yeah.”

He smoked himself and she held up her hands in and solidified him. She stormed to him and punched him hard. He wheezed. Barry showed up and antagonized him again. He smoked out. She looked at her brother. “I can manipulate him when he’s like this.” She held up her hands and he went into human form. She punched him again. She looked at her brother. “If we can keep him in mist form that should sap his strength.”

“Your sister’s right. Gas is the least stable form of matter. This meta-human will not be able to stay in his mist form for long. His particles will need to reform.”

From the Cortex at S.T.A.R. Labs, they could hear the fight and then it went silent for a long few minutes. “Barry. Grace.”

No answer.

“Barry. Grace.”

“We win,” Barry finally said into the speaker.

Grace smiled at her brother. “Now, let’s go check on our dad.”

He nodded. “But first you need to talk to Cisco.”

She nodded. “Right.”

She went to the Lab and looked at her boyfriend. “Can we talk?”

He nodded. “Sure.” They walked into a part of the lab that was private. “What’s up?”

“You,” she said. She saw the confused look on his face. “Cisco, I know when something’s bothering you. We’ve shared a bed for almost a year now. All I want you to do is talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong. Maybe I can help you.”

He shook his head. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”

She looked at him. She knew he was lying, but why? “You know you don’t have to be the tough guy with me, right?”

“I know,” he said and kissed her. “But everything’s fine.”

* * *

It’d been awhile since Joe could do this. Watching Barry and Grace sleep had been a past time he hadn’t realized he missed until now. She was sleeping in another chair in front of a supply drawer and Barry was sleeping at the door. Barry woke up just as Grace had.

Joe smiled. “It’s been awhile since I watched you sleep.”

They chuckled. “Rescuing you is exhausting.”

Grace stood and walked to him. She hugged him. “I am so glad you’re okay.”

“Me too.” He looked at both of them. “I really miss the ability to ground you.”

Barry smiled. “Sorry we went and grew up.” They held each other’s hand for a moment. “I could have got my dad out of Iron Heights tonight.”

“I know.”

“But you were right. That's not the way.”

“Daddy,” Iris said as she rushed in.

Joe held her. “Oh. Baby, I'm fine. Don't worry.”

“I'll let you guys talk.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna go too. I think I’m gonna get a full night’s sleep tonight.” She blew a kiss to Joe. “I love you, dad.”

He smiled. “Love you too, Sweetheart.”

Barry looked at his sister as they walked out of the hospital. “Let’s go see dad.”

She nodded. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen him, besides tonight. Let’s do it.”

* * *

Inside the visiting room, Henry sat down in his chair and smiled when he seen his 2 children sitting together. Grace smiled. “Hi, daddy.”

He smiled. “Hi, baby.”

She smiled.

“Joe’s going to be okay,” Barry told him.

He just smiled looking at them both. Grace looked at her father. “Daddy, I’m sorry I haven’t come to see you more often. “It’s okay, Baby. I understand.”

She shook her head. “No, you don’t. I should come to see you more.” She sighed. “I just…I look so much like her, daddy. I didn’t want to hurt--”

He smiled. “Baby, seeing you has never made me feel sad. And I’m glad you look like your mom. She was a very beautiful woman and you have a lot of her traits too, not just her looks.”

“You know, lately I've been thinking about mom. A lot. I miss her.”

“Did I ever tell you about the time you learned to walk?”

“A couple times.”

“Everyone was walking before you. All the little babies running around the neighborhood, not you. But your mom was never worried. She just said, “he'll walk when he has someplace to go.” and sure enough, the first time you took a few steps, you moved so quick, you didn't just walk, you started...to run. And you ran to your mom, Barry. Right into her arms. You had someplace to go.”

After Henry’s story, Grace was in tears and she smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. She looked up at him. “I love you.”

He kissed her hair. “I love you too, Kiddo.”

Henry smiled. “You two take care of each other, okay?”

“Always,” they said in unison.

After talking to Henry for as long as they could, the siblings walked outside. They got into Grace’s car. “Grace, wait a minute. I want to say something.”

“Shoot.”

He exhaled deeply. “I thought being the fastest man alive would make my life easier... that I could outrun anything. Turns out, no one can outrun pain.” He took her hand. “Life is tragic. But it's also precious...and sweet...and extraordinary. And the only way I know to honor our mom's life is to keep running.” He looked into her eyes. “Gracie, you were right. We can do extraordinary things if we do them together. Just like mom would have wanted us to do.”

She smiled and hugged him. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Never doubt that, even when things get rough. We’ll always have each other.”

She sighed. “Come on. I’ll drop you off at the lab and then I’m going to go see Iris. I wanna know how it went with telling dad about Eddie.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

* * *

She walked into the house to see Iris lounged on the sofa, her laptop in her lap. “Hey, Sis.”

“Hey!” she said smiling. “Did you talk to Cisco?”

She nodded. “And he told me was fine,” she said sitting.

“And you know that’s not true.”

She nodded. “Right. I just don’t know what else to do.”

“There is nothing else you can do. You’re gonna have to wait for him to come to you, Sweetheart. That’s the only way.”

“How’d it go with Eddie and dad?”

She nodded. “Surprisingly well. Then again he was sedated, so…”

The girls laughed. Sometimes it felt really good to hang out with your family.


	7. Going Rogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leonard Snart has come to town and wreaks havoc on Central City.
> 
> Cisco and Grace have hit a snag that they may or may not be able to get out of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all stick around for this, but please remember I LOVE CISCO. I think he's absolutely adorable, but this is for the story and the characters of Cisco and Grace.

She moaned as their bodies came together again…and again. She put a hand to his bare chest and met him thrust for thrust. “God, Baby, that feels so good!”

He groaned and pumped into her. She put her hands on his shoulders and tilted her head back. He trailed kisses down her neck. “Damn, Gracie…”

Their bodies kept meeting in the dance as old as time and finally, he stiffened and came inside her with an animalistic groan. With a couple more pumps, Grace’s entire body convulsed as she came screaming his name. He collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily.

“Damn,” she muttered, panting. She pushed a hand through her hair and looked down her body at him. “What the hell was that?” she laughed.

He chuckled. He shrugged. He lifted his head and kissed her. “I wanted you.”

She smiled as he rolled off her, and she faced him. “Oh, I got that, but damn.” It’d been round number 3. Cisco was usually good for 2 rounds, but something was different this time. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was to distract her from asking him again to talk to her, but she decided to not talk about it. There really was no point to bringing it up anymore.

He laughed. He shrugged. He kissed her. “You loved it.”

Her phone rang and she sighed. She smiled at him. “Of course I did.” She glanced at the display. “It’s my sister.”

“Answer it. I gotta get in the shower anyway. Your brother is meeting us at the lab.”

She answered as she sighed, “Hey, Iris, what’s up?” Would anything they do not consist of the team, the Lab or having sex? Not that she would ever complain about having sex with him because the sex was _incredible_.

“Ooh. You don’t sound happy.”

“Great sex, but my boyfriend could work on the after.”

“Ahh…been there. Well, I was going to ask if you had the day off today?”

“I do,” she said. “I took it off because I thought Cisco wanted to do something. I thought I picked up on the hint correctly…”

“Well, they have a huge sale on jeans, wanna come with me?”

“I’m so there,” she said with a smile. “Give me about forty-five minutes and I’ll meet you at the house.”

“Sounds good,” Iris said. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” She walked to her closet and pulled out a completely casual outfit. A chunky burgundy colored sweater, black leggings and knee-high boots. She walked into the bathroom and yelled above the roar. “Hey, Babe, don’t use up all the water! I gotta get in after you.”

“Okay!”

* * *

About an hour and a half later, Grace had made it to the West home within 45 minutes as promised. Then another 45 minutes later they had made a dent into the store’s sale on jeans. They both got their favorite brand’s newest style. As they tried on the jeans in the changing rooms, Grace asked, “Do you think Cisco could be savvy enough to distract me with sex instead of talking about what’s been bothering him lately?”

Iris laughed. “Honey, I think it’s in every person’s bag of tricks to do that.” She came out of the room just as Grace had. “Why, do you think that’s what he’s doing?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never actually had someone do it before.” She exhaled. “It’s weird. I mean I’m dating a guy that will tell me he loves me in front of everyone, but when I can see that something’s bothering him he won’t talk to me.”

“Let me ask you something, every time you brought up the subject what did he do?”

“Initiated sex.” She sighed. “Maybe I’m overreacting,”

“Grace, it’s not an overreaction if you feel that way. We can both agree that he loves you, right?”

“Absolutely and I love him.”

“And we can both agree that his technique of distraction is very enjoyable?”

“Absolutely, but I want him to be able to talk to me, you know?”

She nodded. “I do. Absolutely. But Gracie, you of all people know human behavior better than anyone. It’s in our nature to evade a conversation that makes us uncomfortable.”

“But it shouldn’t be that way with someone you keep saying you want to spend your life with.”

“He says that?”

She nodded. “I thought I did too but what if him not being able to open up to me becomes a habit or something?” She sighed. “I’ve always wanted a relationship like me and CJ’s, you know? Our friendship anyway.”

She nodded. She did know. Both she and Barry both knew. Carter Stephens and Grace were able to talk about _anything_ and _everything_. And she means anything. She remembered that Grace had always told her that she wanted a relationship where he was her best friend and her lover too. Iris had always thought Carter would have been perfect for her. Barry and Joe thought the same but it never seem to happen. To this day she still believed that that’s why Carter left Central City because he a) couldn’t tell her how he felt and b) couldn’t keep watching her with guy after guy who treated her like shit.

While Cisco was amazing and showed her she was worth more, he still had certain things that stopped Grace from thinking it would last forever and communication was one of them. They would be celebrating a year in February and yet he couldn’t open up to her?

They were currently looking at a rack of sarcastic t-shirts when her phone vibrated. She glanced at the display. “Damn it.” She looked up. “Hey, Iris, I gotta go. Something’s going down at work. Should only take me about twenty if you want to wait?”

“Okay. I’ll go to the lingerie store and get something to surprise Eddie then.”

She smiled. “Sounds good.” She walked out of the store and called Caitlin. “Hey, I’m on my way.”

* * *

Both Gaia and the Streak got to the scene of the crime. Grace took 2 of the robbers and Barry took the other 2. Using her wind pressure punch she punched the man in the face and went down, out cold. Before the bad guys got away one of them shot one of the guards. Barry rushed him to the hospital after asking where the nearest hospital was. Grace called Iris and asked her to meet her at the precinct.

Barry got to the precinct after collecting the evidence at the crime scene. As he and Joe walked to the main part of the station, Joe handed him a binder filled with criminals that have struck in Central City. “So look through these mug shots of Central City's most wanted, and see if you can find our guy.”

Barry quickly flipped through the pages of mugshots and landed on one. “That's him.”

Joe was stunned. “Damn.” He took the binder from him and looked at the photo he pointed out. “Leonard Snart.”

“Leonard? That's almost as bad as Bartholomew.”

“Snart ain't sexy, either.”

“He may have a horrible name, but he was kinda cute.”

“Cute?” they asked in unison.

She shrugged. She pointed at Barry. “I should be really mad at you.”

“Why?” he asked. “What did I do?”

She sighed. “Nothing actually. You wouldn’t have known unless Cisco told you.”

“Told me what?”

“He was dropping hints of spending the day together if I could get it off today and so I got today off and he ends up going to Lab for you.”

Barry winced. “Ooh. How much is he in the doghouse?”

She sighed. “He’s not.” She looked at both Barry and Joe. “I don’t have the energy to fight him on this. Not when it seems to take the Jaws of Life to get the guy to open up.” She looked at dad. “Tell us about Leonard.”

“Snart's father was a cop...was a bad cop. Took his anger out on his kids until he went to prison.”

“Snart's dad's in prison too? We should start a club.”

Grace snickered and slapped her brother in the chest.

“He shows up, like, every six months. He cases a job for weeks before he makes his move. Then, he does the job...gets away.”

“That's before The Streak and Gaia were around.”

He stopped Barry. “Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?”

“I referred to The Streak, which I'm pretty sure I can top. I've been thinking of a new name. What do you think about The Fla…”

“Coffee break.”

They all turned and saw Iris. Grace smiled. “Hey!”

“Thought I would bring Central City's finest java over to Central City's finest.” Barry snatched his coffee.

Joe looked at the coffee and then at Iris. “Thanks. I'm off caffeine.”

“My dad's been mad at me every since I told him about me and Eddie.”

“No, you mean he's mad at you because you didn't tell him.”

They climbed the stairs together. “Uh, first, that sounds like you're taking his side, and second, do you know how he does this whole, “I'm not talking to you, but I have a whole bag full of judgmental looks I'm gonna try out on you later”.”

“Yeah, I've been on the receiving end of those a few times.”

“Me too.” She looked at her sister. “But Barry and I told you that he’d react this way once he found out because _you_ didn’t say anything.”

“I know,” she said, frustrated. “But Gracie I couldn’t.”

“You mean you didn’t want to.” She looked at her sister and reminded her, “Do you think I was thrilled with the fact that I had to tell him about Cisco? I knew how he’d react. And he did, but he didn’t find out from someone else or something else. He found out from me. That’s all he’s ever asked, Iris.”

She sighed. “I know.” Expertly changing the subject she said, “Speaking of communications, or lack thereof, after all of these journalism classes, I got an idea.”

“Huh.”

“I started a blog.”

Grace smiled. “Really? That’s cool.”

“All right, what's it about? Your brownie obsession? 'Cause, you know, you probably shouldn't broadcast that.”

Grace laughed as he smirked at Iris.

“No, something important. Something that Central City needs to know about, The Streak and the Flying Woman. They’re out there, Barry. Rumor has it, they stopped an armed car robbery earlier. I was hoping that I could take a look at the file, and…”

“What? I'm not at liberty to discuss an ongoing police investigation with you.”

“Since when, Mr. Blabbermouth?”

Grace laughed again. “She’s got you there. You’ve never been able to keep your mouth shut.”

He smiled at her and rolled his eyes. “Take it from someone who's been investigating the impossible since they were 11. Blogging about this is only gonna bring the crazies to your front door.”

“My blog is anonymous.”

“All right, well, anonymous or not, it's not safe. You never know what kind of weirdos are out there trolling on the internet.”

“I can vouch for that.”

They entered the lab and Grace slowed when she saw the beautiful blond in the peach colored dress and glasses standing in the room.

Felicity added, “The internet is full of weirdos and nerd rage...lots and lots of nerd rage.”

Grace noticed that her eyes never left Barry’s. The blond turned to Iris and held out her hand. “Hi. Felicity Smoak.”

“Iris West,” she said and shook her hand.

Grace reached out and smiled. “Grace Allen.”

“Oh! Right,” she said smiling. “Your brother talked about you a lot when he came to Starling.”

“Aww…how cute,” Grace teased.

“Barry Allen.” His eyes never left hers. “But you three already knew that.” He looked at Iris and Grace. “Felicity is…”

“The girl that you met in Starling City, the computerer, right? You two worked on one of Barry's unexplainable cases.”

“Which, long story short, was definitely explainable.” She turned and walked to the skylight. “So the lightning came through here?”

“Yeah.”

Iris left later which left Barry, Felicity and Grace. “So, Grace, what do you do?”

“Depends on what you mean by do?”

“Well, I’m an IT specialist.”

She smiled. “I’m a photographer. I’m the photo-graphics editor at Central City Picture News.”

Barry smiled. “But she has several other degrees too. Computer Software Engineer, Forensic Psychology and Pharmaceutical science.”

Grace smiled at her brother. “Thank you, Big brother.” She felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket and pulled it out of her pocket. She looked at the caller ID and smiled. “It’s Carter.” She rose up a little and kissed his cheek. “Talk to you later, Big Brother. Love you.”

“Love you. Tell Carter we say hi and to get his ass home!”

She laughed and said over her shoulder. “I will,” she answered and answered, “Hey. How’s Europe?”

Felicity smiled and pointed behind her as she looked at Barry. “Boyfriend?”

He shook his head. “No. Carter’s her best friend and her rock. They’ve been through a lot together and are extremely close. They can’t usually go more than a week without talking to each other.” He smiled. “However, we’ve all been hoping that they would…” he sighed. “…but it hasn’t worked out.”

Grace walked out of the precinct as she listened to Carter tell her about his work in Europe. She smiled, more proud than she’d ever been. “That’s amazing.”

“Yeah. It’s great.” There was a pause and then he asked, “Are you okay, Gracie?”

She sighed. “I don’t know. You remember me talking to you about Cisco, right?”

He nodded as he answered, “I do. He’s the guy you met the night of the particle accelerator. What about him?”

“I think I’ve been spoiled by you.”

He laughed and asked, “Why do you say that?”

“Because despite me trying everything he won’t open up to me,” she told him. “He won’t talk to me, CJ. Like at all. I know something’s bothering him, especially now that everything’s been happening, but he won’t talk. He keeps distracting me with…sex.” She smiled at the older woman who walked past her. “Hi, Mrs. Patterson.”

He laughed. “I was wondering why you whispered that last part.”

She exhaled again and got into her car. “We’ve always been able to talk about everything. There’s never been a subject that was off limits and then I get with Cisco and it would seem that there is a subject that is off-limits.” She scratched her forehead in frustration. “I just don’t know what to do, CJ.”

“Well, first, Gracie, you and I are different. We’re not sleeping together and we’re not living together.”

“So you’re saying if we were that you’d close--”

“I didn’t say that,” he interjected almost immediately. “Don’t put words in my mouth. I just meant that you and I have had eighteen years of friendship. With that comes a level of trust and everything. He may know that he can trust you with his secrets but if a guy is holding back it’s either his upbringing or he doesn’t feel safe with sharing it with you. And we both know that it’s not the second one because you’re the most trustworthy person in the world. So, it’s the second.”

She sighed. “Right.” She exhaled heavily. “When are you coming home?”

“Christmas I’ll be there,” he told her. “I promise. There’s some things we need to discuss anyway.”

“Okay. Bad?”

“No,” he said. “I promise. It’s nothing bad. I don’t know when I’ll be able to stay home permanently though. After the new year I’ll know more and I will let you know.”

She smiled. “Good. I miss you.”

“I miss you,” he said. “I gotta go, Gracie. I’ll talk to you before I leave, okay?”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Bye.”

* * *

Barry and Felicity strolled through downtown talking. When their conversation fell silent for a moment, Felicity said, “Iris seems very nice. And really pretty. Like, _super_ pretty. Congratulations.”

“Well, Iris isn't my girlfriend. She's just a friend who actually has a boyfriend.”

“Oh, that's...interesting, I guess.”

“What are you really doing here? I mean, it's good to see you, but do you and Oliver need something, or…”

“No, no, I came because I wanted to see you. I heard you were out of the coma. Didn't call, didn't write, didn't _race_ over…”

Realizing that she knows, he looked around and muttered, “Oliver told you?”

“Honestly, I heard you three talking on that rooftop in Starling City that night. I want to see it. And by “it,” I mean your speed, in case you thought I was talking about something else, which I... which I was not.”

Barry chuckled. “Okay. Okay, you see that building?” He pointed to a building that was a fair distance from them but right in their line of view.

“Uh-huh.”

“Keep your eyes on it.” He raced up to the top of the building and came back down. He showed her the picture.

“You took a picture of me? From the top of that building?” She stared at the photo.

“Yeah. Don't instagram that.”

“Unbelievable.” She looked down at his shoes. “Your shoes are smoking!”

“That... that's fine. It's... it happens sometimes. It's why I have a friction-proof suit.”

“Where did you get that?” She asked.

“I'll show you.”

* * *

They walked into STAR Labs’ Cortex to see Caitlin, Cisco and Grace working. “And this is where my team monitors the police bands for criminal activity. We can track anything that's happening in the city. Check this out. We've got our own satellite.”

Felicity spun around and looked. “I know. I've hacked into it from time to time.”

“Rude.”

Caitlin walked to her as she said, “It is, of course, so wonderful to see you again, Felicity. I'm just wondering how much of our operation she needs to know about.”

“I'm really good at keeping secrets.”

“Yeah, Felicity works with The Arrow.”

“Sweet.”

“And you apparently are not.”

Grace smiled. “Yeah. She’s known about us since the beginning, Hon. Don’t worry about it.”

“Now it's all making sense. You know who The Arrow is.” It occurred to him and he looked between Grace and Barry. “Wait, do you know who The Arrow is?”

“Uh…” Barry muttered.

“Let's just say that my team has a similar set up, but with... More pointy objects.”

“And even if we did, it’s not our secret to tell.”

“Welcome, Ms. Smoak.”

“Dr. Wells? _The_ Dr. Wells?”

“Please, call me Harrison, Felicity.” He wheeled into the room.

“Oh, you know who I am?”

“Ranked second in the national informative technology competition at age 19, graduated M.I.T. With masters degree in cyber security and computer sciences. I know who you are. I keep an eye out for promising talent in scientific fields. It's what brought me Cisco, Caitlin, and I foresaw great things from you.” He looked at Grace. “I even foresaw great things for you if you’d actually use your scientific talents more often.”

She smiled. “Well, having what happened to me happen has made me want to see the beauty in life instead of the ugly.” She shrugged. “So sue me.”

He smiled. “I understand. I just wanted you to know that I have noticed your talent for science.”

“Speaking of which, I should be done with the reboot of the software system by tomorrow night.”

He smiled. “Good. Glad to hear it.”

“I want to see something cool?”

They take her to the treadmill and she watches as he runs at a speed that makes him look like a blur on the thing.

“How fast can he run?”

Grace smiled at her. “We’re not exactly sure.”

“He hasn't reached his top speed yet, theoretically speaking.”

“So is he really okay?”

Grace smiled. “Of course he is. If he wasn’t I would have told you so.”

“His heart rate is within normal range for him,” Caitlin added.

“No, I mean, the lightning bolt changed him. Do any of you really know how much?”

“We know a fair amount,” Cisco told her as Grace leaned into the back of his chair.

Felicity watched as Grace wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and kissed his cheek. “If everything about him is sped up, is he going to age faster? What would happen if he ran too fast? I mean, would he just be running, and then, poof, he's dust in a red costume?”

Wells smiled. “Everything we do here at S.T.A.R. Labs is to protect Barry and Grace Allen. Trust us, Felicity, he is in very good hands here.”

“Want to see how fast I can run backwards?” Barry asked through the speakers.

“Barry maybe you shouldn’t. Remember last--”

There was a loud crash as his body flung into the back wall. Grace winced. “Time.” Grace sighed. “Please remember to not let him show off anymore.”

Caitlin looked at Felicity. “Don't worry. He heals quickly too.”

Grace walked out of the observation room and into the area where Barry was. She walked over to where he was laid out and knelt down to him. “You’re such an idiot, B.”

He groaned. “That hurt worse than I thought.”

She laughed and helped him to his feet. “Come on. Let’s get you checked out.”

* * *

Grace got home to the apartment she shared with Cisco and found herself alone…again. Which meant since she had said before she left that she wanted to talk that he was evading the conversation. She sighed. She’d talk to him about it later. She pulled her phone out and texted Carter: ****[To Carter/6:12pm]: Hope it’s not too late for you. Can you Skype? I need to talk.****

Moments later she got a message back. ****[From Carter/6:15pm]: Absolutely. Go ahead.****

She used the Skype on her phone and waited. Finally his handsome face came up on her screen. She smiled. “Hey.”

He smiled. “Hey, Beautiful. What’s up?”

“Well, you know how I told you that because of the Particle Accelerator exploding it changed my life forever?”

He nodded. “Right. I remember.”

“Well, I didn’t tell you how.”

“Okay. Are you disfigured or something?”

“No. I have powers. I can control the Earth’s elements and some of it’s sub-elements.”

He stopped, his jaw falling open. “No way!”

“Yeah,” she said. “I’ve been wanting to tell you for months I just didn’t--”

“Me too.”

“You too what?” she asked.

He exhaled. “I have powers too. I had made it to the accelerator celebration, Gracie. I was calling you when it happened it.” He rubbed his hair nervously. “Um…I have the ability to control technology and other variations of it.”

Her jaw hit the floor. “Wow…” Recognition came over her. “That’s how you’ve made it huge so quickly.”

He nodded. “I’m able to tap into the technology and easily make tweaks without having to start over. It’s like an intuitive thing.” He sighed. “It’s a lot more complicated and I’ll explain when we see each other in person.”

“Okay.” She let out a deep breath. “The thing is Barry has the ability to run at great speeds. Like huge speeds.” She sighed. “We’re the Central City Fighting Duo I know you’ve been hearing about.”

He nodded. “I figured.”

Her brow furrowed in confusion. “How’d you know?”

“Because I know you two better than anyone, other than Iris, Barry and Joe.” He smiled. “I know **_**you**_**. Plus, it made sense, timelines matched.” His smile widened. “I’m proud of you, Gracie. Just promise me something?”

“Anything.”

“Be careful.”

“Without a doubt,” she said.

“So, you can fight them right?”

“Well, I’m going to try. Every Wednesday and Friday I have now taken up kickboxing.”

“Good for you.”

“But I was thinking of asking Dr. Wells and Cisco if there was a way to incorporate the moves I’m learning with my powers. You know like a power kick and stuff.”

He smiled. “I don’t see why you couldn’t. It’s just combinations basically.” He laughed when he saw the confused look on her face. “I started taking boxing when I went to college. Kept it up and I’ve been running the last few years too.”

She smiled. “Good. And what about your asthma?”

“Um…it flared up a few times until the accident and I haven’t had it sense.”

She blinked at him in surprise. “Really?”

He nodded. “It’s the strangest thing, but I’m thankful for no more pains in my chest after an attack.”

She laughed softly and sighed. “I wish you were home. I miss our coffee catch-ups or our taco Tuesdays.”

He laughed. “I miss them too. I’ll be home for a few days during Thanksgiving if you want we can do our usual schedule then.”

She smiled, just about to jump around happily. “You’re coming home?!”

His smile widened. “In a few days, yeah.” He looked into his phone. “Did you really think I’d miss your homemade pumpkin pie, Girl?”

She laughed. She’d started making pumpkin pie from scratch about 10 years ago and so far it had been a major hit with everyone. Usually for Thanksgiving and Christmas she made 3 each just so she’d be sure to get some. She sighed. “I can’t wait to see you.”

“Me too. I really hate to do this, but it’s like four in the morning here. Can I call you later?”

“Absolutely. Goodbye, CJ. Sleep well.”

“You too, Gracie.”

She blew him a kiss, just like she always did when they hung up from their Skype calls and put her phone down.

* * *

The next morning, Felicity and Barry walked into Jitters and were greeted by Iris. “Hey, you two.”

“Hey. We're not a two.”

“Oh, no. We are a one and one.”

“Yeah.”

“Has Barry been showing you some of the sights in Central City?” Iris asked Felicity.

“Yes, I have seen some pretty amazing things.”

“Really?” She turned to the tables. “Well, if you've got some time, maybe we can show you some of Central City's night life.”

“Oh, no. I get plenty of night life in Starling City.”

“Oh, this is something that I don't think that you're gonna want to miss.” She held the flyer card up and smiled as she said, “Trivia night at Jitters. Eddie's not really excited about it, I admit. But it could be our night, guys.”

Barry took the card and looked at the prize. “Our night to win $75 worth of cappuccinos.”

“Uh, yum.” Felicity took the flyer. She looked up at both of them and said, “You know what, I'm gonna go call work, check in, make sure everything's okay. I'll be back in a second.”

Barry waited for her to be out of earshot before he asked his best friend, “Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“The trivia night with you and Eddie, forcing this whole double date thing.”

She went behind the counter and leaned on it as she looked at her friend. “Because that girl is great, and she happens to come from your very rare species of adorable nerds. Why didn't you tell me more about her?”

“There's nothing to tell. She's just a friend.”

“Barry, girls don't just hop on trains and travel hundreds of miles to see someone that they don't like.”

“She’s right, you know.”

Barry smiled as he turned around. “Hey!” He hugged her. “Where’s your other half?”

She shrugged. “Don’t know. Probably working on something for Dr. Wells. He was up before I left this morning.”

Iris winced. “Still avoiding the issue?”

She nodded. “Yep.” She exhaled. “Could I get a large pumpkin spice latte?”

She nodded. Barry smiled. “Oh, girl, let’s hold off on the caffeine.”

She smiled. “Well, it’s seven-thirty in the morning and daddy and dad always said to not start drinking till five o’clock, so the caffeine will have to hold me over until I can get a bottle of merlot.”

He nodded. “Okay.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “I talked to Carter this morning.”

“I talked to him last night.”

“Cool. He said he’s coming home from his European excursion for Thanksgiving.”

She smiled and nodded. “I know!” Her eyes danced happily. “I can’t wait to see him.” She looked toward Iris and whispered, “Did you know he was effected by the explosion that night too?”

He shook his head. “I hadn’t even known that he was there that night?”

She nodded. She smiled when she seen Iris come over with her coffee. “Yeah, he said he was calling me when the explosion happened that put me in the hospital.”

“What about when you were in the hospital?” Iris asked.

“Oh, Carter told me that he was there the night that I was waiting for you and Barry. He had shown up apparently when Wells was making his speech. He was calling me when…”

“Oh, God…” she gasped. “Was he okay?”

Barry nodded. “Yeah. He was good. He was in the hospital for awhile.” He shrugged when he seen the look on Iris’ face. “He talked to me about it.”

“I wasn’t aware you guys were in contact like Grace and he were.”

He shrugged. “He lived on the other side of us. He’s like a little brother.”

She held out a $5 bill to her sister and smiled up at her brother. She smiled at Felicity. “Hey!” She hugged her. “Good to see you. LOVE the outfit.”

She smiled. “I love your boots.”

She smiled and pulled her sunglasses from the top of her head. “They are good, aren’t they?”

“Amazing,” Felicity said. “Where’d you get them?”

She shrugged. “They were a gift from Carter. He brought them home from Italy for my birthday.” She kissed Barry’s cheek and blew Iris a kiss. “Bye.” She looked over her shoulder as she said, “Bye. Love you, guys.”

“Love you too,” Barry and Iris called in unison.

Felicity’s jaw fell. “Her best friend bought her boots from Italy for her birthday?”

They nodded. Barry smirked as he looked at Iris. “He’d walk through fire for her if she asked him to.”

Felicity smiled. “And she has no idea that he’s in love with her?”

Iris shrugged. “We’re not one-hundred percent sure about that. Barry and I do know that the reason why he decided to jet-set it was because he couldn’t stand to see her with guys who didn’t appreciate and love her like he does.” She pointed at Barry. “Which by the way if this ends the way I think it will we may have to help nurse her through this one. She had high hopes for Cisco.”

He nodded. He knew that better than any of them did. His sister loves Cisco. She was the type that would stick it out even through the bad.

* * *

That night, Grace got home with shopping bags for her ‘Me Time’ few hours she was going to have tonight. Cisco had told her he’d be home late tonight because he had to talk to Wells about something. So, she picked up some bubble bath, beautifully smelling candles and decided to relax.

She started up her bath, dropped some bubble bath into it, lit the candles and it walked into the bedroom. She got naked and pulled on her satin robe. She locked the apartment and grabbed her phone. She walked into the bathroom and stepped in. She pushed the robe off and got comfortable. She saw the text from Carter asking her to call when she got home from work. She tapped his contact and sighed. “Hey, CJ.”

“Hey, Angel.”

She smiled. He had started calling her that when they were in junior high and it had everything to do with her name. “Are you in the tub?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yep. Decided to take a ‘me’ night since my boyfriend is going to be late tonight. So what’s up?”

“Do you remember that project we worked on our sophomore year in high school?”

“Which one? The software program or the security one?”

“The security one,” he clarified.

“What about it?”

“Well, with my abilities I tweaked some of the issues we were having with it.”

“Awesome, but Ceej, you didn’t have to tell me that until you came home.”

“I know, but I couldn’t wait to tell you the best part.”

“What?”

“I just lent it out Guggenheim Technologies for a fee.”

Her heart thundered in her chest as the happy warmth bubbled in her body. “You did what?!”

He could tell that was her excited voice. He laughed. “Yeah. They’re going to borrow the technology for a year for four-point-five million dollars.”

She gasped and sat up quickly. “You’re kidding?!”

“Nope--”

She let out an excited scream and he heard the swishing of the water over her squeal. He laughed. “And as promised, Gracie, you get half.”

“No, C--”

“No,” he interjected. “That was the deal we made in high school and I you know me--when I make a deal with you I keep it. So, get ready for a huge check when I see you at Thanksgiving.”

She felt light-headed. “Oh, God…Carter…”

He smiled. “You deserve it, Sweetheart. You built the software with that big beautiful brain of yours.”

She smiled happily. “You’re amazing. So, that’s why you’ve been bouncing around Europe this entire time?”

“Part of it,” he said. “The other is because I wanted to see Europe.”

She sighed, content. “Hurry home, CJ. We miss you.”

“I miss you guys too.”

* * *

“CISCO!” Grace called as she rushed into the Lab. “CISCO!”

He rushed out from down the hall. “What? What is it?”

She smiled, happily, about to jump out of her skin. “The best thing just happened and you will never--”

“ _This is Detective West. I have a visual on Leonard Snart at the museum. Requesting immediate back up_.”

She looked at him and smiled. “After I help my dad.” She kissed him. She rushed into the area where her suit was and quickly changed. She jet-propelled out of the Lab. She got to the downtown area just in time to see a cop car slide across the ice. She landed and put her hands on the car, using one of her powers to put pressure on the vehicle to stop it. She smiled at the cops. “Officers.”

She rushed inside after her dad and jet-propelled forward, getting to Snart before Joe or even Barry. “Snart! Stop!”

He turned and fired the gun. She saw the emission from the weapon and it hit her dad and brother. She looked at her dad. “You okay, Detective?”

“I’m fine.” He looked at Barry. “Are you okay?”

He hissed. “It burns!” He looked around the pillar and then took off running.

“Time for a test run.” He started firing the weapon.

Grace flew into the air and got in front of the blast. She hissed as she felt the immediate cold. She closed her eyes and lit herself on fire, melting the ice around her. She looked at Joe. “It’s an ice ray gun!”

“Protect your brother!” he told her.

She nodded. Wherever Snart fired trying to hit Barry, she blocked the shot and then gave him a snarky smile. “You’re gonna have to do better than that, Snart.”

Snart turned it on a security guard and Barry took off running. Grace flew toward them both, chasing the beam. She was seconds to late as it hit guard. “No!” Barry screamed. Grace pressed her gloved fingers to his neck. She looked at her brother and shook her head. He bowed his head, “No.”

“I’m sorry.” She looked into his eyes. “Let’s get to the Lab.”

He nodded.

* * *

Barry touched the wound. “It's still numb.”

“It's presenting itself like third-degree frostbite,” Caitlin told him.

“I thought he had hyper healing.”

“It's been slowed. If your cells weren't regenerating at the rate they are, your blood vessels would have frozen solid and the nerve damage would have been permanent. You're lucky to be alive.”

“Snart wasn't another meta-human. He has some kind of gun. It froze things, slowed me down...enough that I wasn't in time to save someone.”

“According to his record, Snart didn't even bother to finish high school, so how did he build a handheld high tech snow machine?”

Wells looked down at his hands, fumbling with something. “S.T.A.R. Labs built the cold gun.”

“What?”

Cisco stepped up. “Dr. Wells and Caitlin had nothing to do with this. I built the gun.”

“You did what!?”

“You did? Why?”

Cisco explained. “Because speed and cold are opposites. Temperature is measured by how quickly the atoms of something are oscillating. The faster they are, the hotter it is, and when then are cold, they're slower on the atomic level. When there's no movement at all, it's called…”

“Absolute zero,” the siblings said in unison.

“Yeah. I designed a compact cryo engine to achieve absolute zero.” He looked at his friend. “I built it to stop you.” He looked toward Grace who’s face had fallen in shock and she pulled a hand through her chocolate brown hair. He continued to explain, “I didn't know who you were then, Barry. I mean, what if you turned out to be some psycho, like Mardon or Nimbus?”

“Cisco…”

“But I didn't. Did I?”

Caitlin tried to help him. “We built the entire structure you're standing in to do good, and it blew up. In the wake of that, you can understand why Cisco would want to be prepared for the worst.”

Grace shook her head in disbelief. She couldn’t believe this. He had built something that could hurt her brother? Potentially kill him?

“I can understand that, but what I can't understand is why you didn't tell me what you did. I mean, after all we've been through, I thought you trusted me. I thought we were friends, Barry said to him.

“We are, Barry.”

“I mean, if you would have just told me, I could have been prepared. But instead, someone died tonight.”

“And I have to live with that.”

“Not just you, Cisco.”

“No, Cisco. We all do,” Barry told him before he walked away.

Cisco stepped toward Grace. She held up a hand. “You’ve seriously got a problem with secrets, Ramon. First you won’t talk to me about what in the hell is bothering you and then you keep the fact that you built a gun that could potentially kill my brother from all of us.”

“Grace--”

“You didn’t think that we needed to know?”

“Of course, Gracie, but--”

“No,” she said as she shook her head. “I can’t. Not now.” She sighed. “I’m going to be spending the night at my dad’s tonight. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Gracie--”

“No, Cisco. You built something that could have killed my brother tonight!” She looked at him. She saw Caitlin trying to defend him again and shook her head. “I get why you did it, but Barry’s right. You didn’t trust us to tell us about it or least tell him about it.” She looked at her boyfriend. “He had a right to know you built something that could have froze him to death, Cisco.”

* * *

“ _Theatergoers remain shaken after surviving tonight's brutal and bizarre attack in a downtown theater…_ ” the reporter on the TV said as the front door to the West house opened.

“The news...are you okay?”

“I'm fine.”

“How long is this gonna go on?” she asked from the couch.

“Seems like the cold treatment is going around.”

He walked into the dining area. “Not now, Iris, please.”

“Yes, now. You did the same thing when I tried to sign up for the police academy without telling you. You didn't speak to me for weeks...not until I withdrew my application. Well, I am not withdrawing this time, dad. I am dating Eddie whether you like it or not.”

“Eddie's my partner.”

“I know.”

“But you don't. You're not a cop. You don't know what having a partner means. Wherever I go, he goes, and where I go isn't always safe, Iris. I need to be 100% focused. Now, there's a part of me that isn't focused, that doesn't see Eddie as my partner, but as your boyfriend. So if he gets hurt or worse, and I'm there, how am I gonna look at you? How you gonna look at me? Now, I'm not mad at you, but that's why this is so hard for me. Do you understand?”

She nodded just as the front door opened and closed. They both turned to see Grace crying and with a duffle bag. Joe looked at his youngest daughter. “Sweetheart, what is it? What’s wrong?”

She dropped her bag by the stairs. “Cisco and his damn secrets!” she exclaimed.

“What secrets?” Joe asked.

She screeched in frustration and kicked the wooden archway. Iris rushed to her as Joe followed. “Hey, calm down.” She looked at her sister. “Honey, look at me.” She pushed her hair out of her face. “Take a breath.” She smiled as the younger woman did as she asked. “Again.”

Joe smiled at both his daughters and waited for Grace to sit before he knelt in front of her. “Okay, now, what secrets?”

“It all started a couple of weeks ago when you consulted with the Lab on that one case, dad.”

He nodded, knowing exactly what she was saying. He listened to what she was saying and as she got to the part that happened tonight, she was extremely vague about it, covering up the Streak and Gaia parts. “The thing is that Barry and I just realized that he never trusted us.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “How can I trust a guy who won’t open up to me and won’t tell me something like that?” She looked at her dad. “How could I be with someone like that?”

He moved from kneeling in front of her to sitting beside her on the couch. He pulled her into a sideways hug as he held as she cried. He kissed her hair and soothed her. “We’ll figure it out.”

Iris sat on the other side of Grace and comforted her too. “Dad’s right. We’ll get through this. Just like we all did with your other breakups.”

She nodded and curled into Joe. After she cried for a little while longer, she wiped her tears. She looked at her dad and sister. “Oh, guess what?”

“What?”

“I was talking to Carter earlier and you’ll never believe what he told me.”

“He’s coming home?” Joe supplied, hopeful.

She shook her head. “Not for a couple of more weeks, dad.” She sighed. “No. He’s been in Germany drawing up a business deal for a program he and I built together our sophomore year in high school.”

Iris smiled. “That’s amazing, Gracie.”

She smiled. “I’m not to the best part.” She took both their hands. “He is renting out the security program we built to Guggenheim Technologies for four-point-five million dollars.”

“Oh…my God…” Iris whispered.

Joe’s eyes blew wide in happy surprise. “Wow…”

She nodded. “If they like the program they’ll buy a version of it that will be tailored to their needs.”

Joe hugged her tight and kissed her hair. “I’m so proud of you, Baby.”

Iris nodded. “Absolutely. That’s amazing news.” She hugged her. “Congratulations!”

She hugged her back. “Thanks, Sis.” She sighed and wiped her remaining tears. She looked at them both. “I couldn’t have done any of it without your guys’ encouragement.”

Joe hugged her. “Any time, Sweetheart.” He kissed her hair. “We love you and we’re so proud of you.”

Later, as they listened to Jazz records and sipped wine, Grace walked around the room. “You want to know what I was thinking about on my way over here?”

“Absolutely,” Joe said before he sipped his merlot.

“In the eight years that I’ve been dating I have never actually been without someone.”

Iris thought about what she was saying and realized she was right. “You’re right. You haven’t been.”

“There’s nothing wrong with it, Gracie. You’re not a singular person--”

“But I don’t actually know that,” she interjected. “I don’t know if I am or not. I just keep going from guy to guy and not really giving myself time to evaluate what had gone wrong or whatever.” She shrugged. “Just an observation.”

Joe nodded and continued to sip his wine. He had a feeling it was more than that.

* * *

Felicity found Barry on his treadmill running at over 300mph. She walked into the room. “Barry? Barry.”

He slowed down. “What? What are you doing? You should go back to your hotel. Get some sleep.”

“You should too. Not go back to my hotel...I meant get some sleep.”

“I can't. Every time I close my eyes, I see that man's face. I watched him die. I have to go faster.” He turned and started back on the treadmill.

“Barry, it's not your fault. And it's not Cisco's, either. Barry, I know you're upset, but you have to look at this from his point of view.”

“No, I get it. He didn't trust me.”

“Barry, when you met us... Me, Oliver, and Dig... We were this well-oiled archery machine. But it didn't start out that way. And unlike you guys, we weren't tossed together overnight. We came together one at a time. Believe me, it took much more than watching Oliver do the salmon ladder to make me trust him.” She turned to walk out as he scoffed. She turned back to him. “I've seen firsthand what this life can do to people. It's a lonely path. Don't make it any lonelier than it has to be.”

He sighed. She was right. He exhaled and called his sister. He smiled. “Hey, Kiddo. Can you come to the lab?”

“Sure, but uh…I may be sitting here drinking wine with dad and Iris.”

He chuckled. “Just get your beautiful self over here.”

“Aye, Captain.”

He chuckled as he hung up.

* * *

“I figured out a way to track Captain Cold,” Cisco said coming into the Cortex.

“You gotta stop naming these guys,” Caitlin told him.

“She’s right you know.”

Cisco turned. “Gracie…”

She smiled. She looked at Barry. “As you requested, I’m here. What’s up?”

Wells looked at Barry. “Barry, listen to him.”

He faced Cisco and sighed. “How?”

“The cold gun is powered by an engine control unit, a microcomputer that regulates air-to-fuel ratios so the sub-cooled fluid in the chambers don't overflow and…”

“Explode.”

He turned to Felicity. “Right. This E.C.U. was receiving updates wirelessly from my tablet. If I boost the signal using Central City's network and send a false update, we'll get a ping back, and then…”

“We can locate Snart,” Wells finished.

“How long will it take?” Barry and Grace asked in unison.

“First I have to hack into the City's network, so I don't know, 30 minutes, maybe?”

“I can do it in less than one.” She sat down. “When it comes to hacking, I'm the fastest woman alive.” She cracked her knuckles. “Ow! That was not as badass as I pictured.”

Grace smiled. “You remind me so much CJ it’s not funny.”

She smiled up at her. “Thank you.” She looked at Barry. “That was a compliment, right?”

“One of the best you’re ever going to get. He’s one of the computer guys I know.”

She smiled. “Thank you.” She began typing. “All right, I'm in.”

“Are you kidding?” Caitlin asked, impressed.

“All right, I'm sending the updates. We're connected.”

“Network is triangulating the location.”

“We got him. He's heading west on Nelson toward the train station.”

“If he's leaving, it appears Mr. Snart may have gotten what he came for.”

Cisco smiled. “When we put our minds to it, dude, nothing can stop us.”

Barry tapped his comm off.

“Oh, you turned your ear piece off. How are we gonna talk to each other?”

“I don't feel like talking right now.”

She tapped hers off too. “Me neither.” She looked at her brother. “Ready when you are.”

He nodded. “Let’s do it.”

* * *

They got to the train that Snart was on. He and Barry talked and Snart fired the gun at the train car, separating it. Grace jumped up, hovered. “You get everyone off. I’m going to go have some fun.”

He nodded. “Be careful.”

She smiled and took off for Snart. She caught up to him, grabbed his coat and slammed him into the ground. She straightened. “Where do you think you’re going?”

He smirked. “Ahh. The Flying Woman.”

She glared at him. “It’s Gaia, Jackass. Learn it.” She blasted him with his own coldness and he went backwards. He landed not far from Barry and he fired the gun at him. “Pretty fast, kid, but not fast enough. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“You forced me to up my game, not only with this gun, but with how I think about the job. It's been educational.” He raised the gun and Grace raised her hand.

But before she could say anything she heard, “Drop it,” along with a mechanical whirring sound. She smirked when she saw Caitlin, Felicity and Cisco. She put her hands on her hips and gave Captain cold a smug smile. Cisco threatened to shoot him and Captain Cold walked away.

Grace rushed to her brother. “You okay?”

He nodded. “Get me out of here.”

She nodded. “Hold still.” She put her hands on the strap of ice holding him down. They watched as an orange-red glow came from her hands and melted the ice. She pushed it off him and hugged him.

* * *

They said goodbye to Felicity and Cisco walked to Grace. She shook her head. “No. What’s wrong with us is going to take more than one moment of being there for my brother.” She turned to him. “Cisco, if you can’t open up to me or even actually talk about your day beyond what you had for breakfast, then what in the hell are we doing?”

“We’re together--”

“Are we though?” she asked. “Because I get more out of Caitlin nowadays then I do you.” She sighed. “Like I said, I’m spending the night at dad’s. We’ll talk tomorrow.” She left.

Barry sighed and looked at his friend. “Word of advice?”

He nodded. “Sure. Can’t hurt.”

“If you don’t start talking to her she’ll make it a confrontation and one of two things will happen: One, you’ll talk or two you won’t and you’ll push her away.” He looked down at his friend. “You don’t open up easily, Cisco. She believes in absolute communication in a relationship--always has--which means no secrets. She has to feel connected to you, deeply connected and keeping things from her, not talking to her that’s going to be a disconnect.”

He looked at his friend. “If you close yourself off and not talk then she’ll close herself off and run. She believes if you are as serious as you say you are then there shouldn’t be any reason why you aren’t talking.” He sighed. “If she tells you things and opens up to you, telling you things that are difficult for her then why won’t you do the same for her?” He started walking away, but stopped and said, “Oh and evading the conversation with sex will only work for so long before she gets pissed and trust me Grace isn’t fun when she’s angry.” He looked at his friend. “Because if Joe finds out you’re dead.” He rubbed his forehead. “I think you need to think about what you want, what you want out of this relationship, what you think is best right now and if it’s not with my sister then you need to walk away, because stringing her along is exactly what the others did to her.”

He nodded. “Got it.”

He nodded too. “Good. Take the night like she said and figure out at least what you’re going to tell her.”

He nodded. He would do just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE: There's be a change in plans when it comes to Grace and Cisco. After a discussion with two writing friends, I've worked out that the break up of Cisco and Grace will happen sooner than I had planned. I think it will work better where I have it now. Again, to anyone who loves them together, I'm sorry, but I feel this is best for both their developments in the series.


	8. Bonding Over Peanut Butter Chunk Ice Cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief look into her night at Joe's. 
> 
> Plus, a little addition to the Plastique Episode Bar Scene...someone comes home sooner than he said to surprise Grace.

There was a knock on the West door and Grace called out, “I’ll get it, dad.”

“Okay, Sweetheart.”

She looked through the window and smiled. She opened it to her brother standing on the other side, ice cream in hand. She laughed. “What the heck are you doing knocking?”

He walked into the house. “I wanted to surprise you.” He smiled. “I got you the bumpy romantic road special--peanut butter cup chocolate chunk ice cream.”

She smiled and hugged him. “Dad! Barry’s here!”

Joe came out of the kitchen. “Hey!”

He smiled. “Hi. I figured since Grace and Cisco seem to have hit a snag, I would bring her the romantic road special.”

He chuckled and gave them both spoons. “Cool. Well, since your sister’s not home maybe you can tell me what you said when you came over earlier.”

She nodded and sat on the couch. The guys joined her. “Me and Cisco have hit a snag. In fact, I’m not sure if we can actually work our way back.” She opened the ice cream box. “He won’t talk to me. I can tell him anything, in fact, he encourages it, but he won’t talk to me. Like a few weeks ago when you showed up with the update about Nimbus, I knew something about using the particle accelerator was bothering him, but he wouldn’t tell me. Ever since then the things that have been bothering him keep piling up and piling up, but…”

“But he won’t tell you,” Joe answered, diving into the ice cream with her.

She nodded. “Exactly. He wants me to tell him everything about me, but he won’t tell me everything about him. At least not the deep stuff. He’ll tell me his favorite movie or the dog he had as a kid, but…”

Joe nodded. “So what had you all worked up earlier?”

She took a breath and told him what had happened with the cold gun and Captain Cold. Joe was shocked. “And he never told you?”

Barry shook his head as he put the spoonful into his mouth. “Nope. He and I made up, but Gracie and he haven’t.” He looked at his sister. “I talked to him earlier about it.”

She nodded. “What did you say?”

“Just basically that if he doesn’t start opening up or something he’s gonna lose you.”

She nodded. “I’ve been trying to tell him that.” She exhaled deeply and sat back on the couch. “I wanted him to be the one. I really did.”

“I know you did, Kiddo. Just give it time and soon you’ll know what you need to do. Just give it time. It’ll all work out. If you break up, then you break up. If not then you’ll work it out.”

She sighed. “I don’t know what to do. I mean why is it that all the guys I pick are horrible communicators or emotionally unavailable? I mean seriously, is it so hard to a guy to be honest anymore? Is it wrong to want to know every aspect of the guy that says he wants to spend his life with me?”

Joe felt the cold chill from the ice cream as it settled on his tongue and shook his no. “No. It’s only natural. And with everything that you’ve been through you deserve it.” He looked at her. “If you’re feeling any of this then maybe it’s a good thing you’re seeing it now and not four years down the road or something.”

She shrugged and nodded. “I mentioned it to Carter that I wanted what he and I have--the open-book of communication, but he says that comes with how long we’ve known each other.” She sighed. “And he said that it could possibly be his upbringing that has made him pull back.”

Barry nodded as he pushed his spoonful of ice cream back and answered, “That’s entirely possible, but I’m with you it shouldn’t take this much work to really get him to open up to you either.”

Joe smiled. “Did you tell your brother your good news?”

She smirked as Barry smiled. “What good news?”

“You’re now looking at Central City’s next millionaire.”

His smile widened, but his voice was stunned. “How’d that happen?”

“Carter,” she answered. “He is currently renting out the security program he and I designed our Sophomore year in high school. He rented it out for 4.5 million dollars and per the agreement we made he’s splitting it with me even though he’s currently a meta who has the ability to manipulate technology.”

Joe coughed as his eyes grew huge. “You’re kidding?!” he said hoarsely.

She shook her head. “He thinks it has something to do with the fact that he was on the phone trying to call me when the explosion happened. He hasn’t really analyzed it and he doesn’t want Dr. Wells or the others to analyze it either. However, he’s able to intuitively know when there’s something wrong or whatever. It’s actually cooler the way that he described it. He’ll tell you when he comes home for Thanksgiving.”

Joe smiled. “Let’s invite Carter, Blake, Michael, and Angela here for Thanksgiving.” Blake was Carter's older brother. And Michael and Angela were their parents.

She shook her head. “Mike and Angie can’t. Carter’s sending them on a cruise for their twenty-eighth anniversary. Angie’s always wanted to see the European countries so he and Blake got together and planned the whole thing for them.” She smiled. “Carter’s coming home for us.”

Barry smiled. “If he told you that then he’s lying, Kiddo.”

She gasped. “Carter doesn’t lie!”

“Since when?” Joe asked. “The boy’s not only been lying to himself but to you.”

She looked at her brother and adoptive father. “About what?”

“How he feels about you,” Joe and Barry said in unison.

Her heart hammered hard in her chest. “Are you saying…?” her words died. “But…”

Joe smirked as he watched attempt to talk again. Barry laughed. “Kiddo, it’s not a big deal. I think you should see how your relationship with Cisco plays out and then take time for yourself if it doesn’t work out, then go from there.”

“Yeah. Barry’s right. Just take your time. Whatever happens, let it happen and you never know it may be the best thing to ever happen to you.”

She nodded. “Right.”

Were they right? Was Carter in love with her?

* * *

**-A Week Later…**

“Hey, Babe, you about ready?”

Grace looked over her shoulder to see Cisco standing in the doorway of the bedroom that they still shared. She nodded. She came home a couple days after Captain Cold had left Central City. She still didn’t know what she was going to do exactly but Cisco had asked for some time so she was going to give it to him. Even if she didn’t think he should need it. He had time in her opinion, lots of time, but she was listening to what Carter had said which was maybe he wasn’t brought up to express his feelings. “Yeah,” she said.

However, even though she came home and they were sharing a bed didn’t mean that they were intimate with each other. That was one thing she couldn’t do. She had to feel close to someone and except for the last time they had sex she just couldn’t get there with him right now. She turned and tilted her head curiously. “What?”

He looked her up and down. She wore a pair of body-hugging jeans, a sweater that she had pushed up the sleeve of her gray sweater on the left side and pulled the shoulder down on the same side. Her heels brought her way taller than he was and her hair was in big wavy curls around her shoulders. “You look amazing.”

She smiled. “Thank you.” She walked over and picked up her phone and put it into her purse. “Let’s go. We’re gonna be late.”

* * *

They got to the bar and everyone was introduced. She walked to the bar and ordered 2 shots of vodka. She showed the bartender her ID.

“Grace.”

Her heart hammered in her chest at the deep voice coming from the man. She’d know that voice anywhere. That was…Carter! She turned and let out a loud squeal as she ran into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on. He laughed as he spun her around. Her family and friends watched the reunited old friends.

“Is that Carter?” Caitlin asked Barry.

Barry, who was grinning from ear to ear nodded. “That’s him.”

Iris walked up to her friend and put her head on his arm. “They’re reunited again.”

“Maybe this time we could convince him to stay.”

She smirked. “Don’t tempt me.”

They’d do anything to keep their foursome together.

Grace was put on her feet and she looked up at the 6’3" man. “What are you doing home? I wasn’t expecting you until next week.”

He smiled. “The joys of owning your business. You can decide Thanksgiving break can be at any time. Like I said, Gracie, I wouldn’t miss your pumpkin pie for anything.”

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him. “Mmm!” She took his hand. “Come on. I’ll introduce you to two of the people that saved mine and Barry’s life.”

“Cisco Ramon, Dr. Caitlin Snow, this is Dr. Carter Stephens.”

Carter laughed and held out his hand. “It’s just Carter, especially since you saved her life.”

Caitlin looked up at him. The man was **_**hot**_**! With his dark brown hair and blue eyes and facial scruff. “Hi. Nice to meet you. Grace has told us so much about you.”

Cisco smiled. “She left out one detail though.”

He looked at Cisco, knowing what he was getting at. “She left it out because she didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable, Cisco.” He looked at the man. “Look, I’m not here to snake your girl. I’m exactly what I’ve always been--her best friend. Plus, I’m here to be with my second family at Thanksgiving.” He turned to Iris. “Hey, Girl.”

She laughed and walked up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Hey, Carter. It’s so good to see you.”

He smoothed a hand down her hair and kissed her head. “You too.”

He turned to Barry. “Hey, B. How’s it going?”

He nodded. “Pretty good.” The 2 men hugged. “It’s so good to see you. Joe’s gonna flip.”

He laughed. “That’s the whole point. I wanted to surprise you.” He kept close to the man he considered a brother. “I thought they made up?”

He shook his head. “Not really. It’s a long story. Come on. Let’s get a drink and I’ll tell you.”

* * *

**This is my inspiration for Carter**


	9. Plastique

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team meets a meta human that has become a human bomb.
> 
> Grace and Cisco hit an even bigger block when her childhood friend, Carter Stephens--her Iris--surprises everyone. After everything, Grace offers Cisco a do-over--they date again and see if they can reconnect like they were.
> 
> When Iris won't stop writing her blog, Barry decides that he can't see her anymore.

Barry and Carter stood at the bar and Barry looked at his old friend. “Hey, let me ask you something.”

Carter smiled. “Shoot, Man.” He held up 2 fingers to the bartender and then looked at him. “How often do you think about why your friends came into your life? Was it random, by design, or maybe a little of both?”

He nodded. “I have thought about that, yes.” He looked at his friend. “Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I was brought into yours and Grace’s life for a reason. I think we were all meant to be friends. I think with me and Iris that we were meant to help you through that thing with your mom and dad.”

He nodded. “Agreed. Regardless of the reason, some friends you just know are gonna be by your side for a while.” He eyed Cisco and Caitlin. “Others, you're not so sure. And then there's that one friend who, well, you hope, someday becomes something more.”

Carter looked at Grace. “Absolutely. But “friend” will have to do for now. And that's okay.”

Barry shrugged as Iris walked over. “I guess.”

Carter laughed. “You’re such a bad liar.”

The sounds of Five’s Got the Feelin’ began playing and he heard Grace call out to him. He smiled and tapped his friend’s arm. “Gotta run.” He kissed the top of Iris’ head and jogged over to Grace. He jumped into the moves that they had come up with so many years ago.

Barry smiled at Iris as she approached the table. “I’m so glad you invited Caitlin and Cisco.”

“They're cool, right?”

“They saved yours and Grace’s lives, Barry. That makes them the coolest people I've ever met. It's nice that you guys became friends.” She raised a shot glass. “To friends, old and new.” She tipped it back. She saw that it was her turn at the darts. “Ooh. I'm up.” She took off and pointed at Grace. “Gracie, you and Carter are up next!”

“You got it!” she said without missing a beat as Barry came to Cisco and Caitlin’s table. “Guys? I have a problem.”

“We all do when guys like them exist.”

“Yeah, he's so hot. Uh, I mean, genetically speaking. Because I'm a geneticist, of course. Oh, my God, do I sound like Felicity?”

“I'm not talking about Eddie or Carter.” They looked at him. “I'm talking about this. I can't feel anything.”

Cisco smirked. “Yeah, that's usually what happens when you drink too much.”

“No, the alcohol is not affecting me. I mean I literally feel nothing.”

“It's your hyper-metabolism. I need a sample,” Caitlin said a little too excited.

Cisco stood. “I'll get more shots.”

“I swear, I had a Vacutainer here.”

“Wait, you carry a blood collection kit in your purse?”

“You have your hobbies.”

He chuckled. She looked over her shoulder. “Cisco feels really weird with them hanging out.”

He shrugged. “Carter wouldn’t do anything to hurt Cisco. He knows they’re still together.”

“Are they though?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Grace is trying and he did say give him more time, so…”

She nodded. “I don’t know what his problem is. I mean I know his home life was rough, but he’s literally going to lose her and it’s not going to be anyone’s fault but his own.”

He shrugged. “I’m out of it. I’m there to listen to my sister when she needs me, but she talks to Iris more about that stuff than me nowadays.”

She laughed. “Probably because she’s having sex.”

He shrugged. “I never asked. I really don’t care. As long as she’s talking to one of us I don’t care.”

* * *

“There’s been a bombing on Eighth and Pass,” Eddie said. He kissed Iris goodbye and quickly everyone made excuses.

Carter looked at Grace and Barry. “Be careful.”

He nodded. “We always are.”

They quickly left and Carter headed to the scene. Barry and Grace got to the lab and quickly changed. They both left as quickly as they came. They stopped not far from the building when they heard someone call for help. Grace looked over. “It’s a window washer.”

“Do you think you could carry him?”

She shrugged. “I’ve never done it before!” she said. “I wouldn’t want to chance it.”

He touched his earpiece. “Guys, there's a window washer, and he's gonna fall.”

“Don't try and catch him. You don't have super strength.”

“Have Grace try--”

“I’m not sure if I have super-strength or not.”

“Well, is there, like, a bed store near here? What if I get a bunch of mattresses and stack them?”

She looked down at her brother. “You’re joking right?”

“Barry, this isn't a roadrunner cartoon.”

She laughed. She heard static in her comm and tapped the device. “Guys, I think my com--”

“Grace, it’s me.”

“Carter?”

Back at the bar, Cisco looked at Caitlin. “He tapped into the frequency?”

She shrugged. They listened to him. “Gracie, listen to me.” There was a pause. “Are you listening?”

“In the entire eighteen years we’ve been friends when haven’t I listened to you?”

“Gee, where do I begin? Try when you dated Josh?”

“Okay, okay, okay. Get your point, but to answer your question. Yes, I’m listening.”

“Good. Now, if I remember right from what you told me last week about your powers you can help put the fire out, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So, Barry…you there?”

“I’m here, C.”

“If you run at your top speed you should be able to run up that building with ease, but you have to continue at that speed or the City will be peeling you off the sidewalk.”

Barry winced. “Yeah, thanks for the visual, Bro.”

He chuckled. “While you do that, Gracie, put the fire out.” He paused. “And Caitlin, Cisco, sorry for hacking the frequency and doing your jobs.”

“It’s okay,” Caitlin told him.

Grace flew into the air and hovered in front of the fire. She took a deep breath and blew hard.

* * *

Carter walked into STAR Labs as requested by Barry. He saw Grace walking in wearing a dress and heels. “Hey, Angel.”

She turned and smiled. “Hey! What are you doing here?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Your brother asked me to come.”

She nodded. They walked into the Cortex together. Cisco and Caitlin saw the two of them walk in together and Caitlin froze. “Uh…what’s he doing here?”

“I asked him to come,” Barry told them. “Besides you guys, I trust him with my life. He’s my brother. Besides, with his expertise I think we could use his help here.”

Carter smiled. “Just so everyone knows I’ll be going back to Europe to finalize a few more deals the first week of December. So, I’m not going to be here long.”

Barry looked at Caitlin, Cisco and Wells and said, “The three of us have never had any secrets from each other and I won’t start now. Besides…” he looked at Carter. “Is it cool?”

He nodded. “Go ahead.”

“He’s a meta too.”

Caitlin and Cisco stared at him. “You are?”

He nodded. “I am. I can manipulate technology and other various abilities with it.”

“Which is why I asked him to meet me here.” He looked at him. “I need you to come with me back to the building where the bomber was and analyze the broken device at the door that was broken into.”

He nodded. “Absolutely,” he said. He looked at Wells. “Good to see you, Doctor.”

“Doctor Stephens.”

Grace looked at Caitlin and Cisco, then at her best friend. “You know each other?”

He nodded. “He offered me a job working on the accelerator. I turned it down and decided to become a businessman and a scientist.”

“Hmm,” Grace said. She looked at Caitlin, Cisco and Wells. “One thing he doesn’t want to happen is for you all to analyze him.”

Barry looked at Carter. “And on one will.” He held up the folder and showed him the VA number. “You still hold your security clearance right?”

He nodded. “I’m a computer adviser to the head of Military services.” He looked at number. “If I remember correctly this number is connected to…” He looked at the computer. “May I?”

Cisco looked at Grace and she nodded. He nodded to him. “Sure.”

Carter stared at the screen and smiled. “Ahh…Gracie’s been in here.”

“You can tell that?” Caitlin asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. My body is basically now a giant computer.” He sighed.

“Couldn’t General Eiling--”

“Eiling?”

Wells nodded. “Yes. Apparently he came into CCPD and pulled the plug on the investigation.”

Carter rolled his eyes. “Arrogant Prick,” he muttered as he took a seat. His fingers sailed across the keyboard. “I used my clearance, you should be able to look with ease now.” He looked at Caitlin. “Don’t worry. They can’t trace the hack or anything. It’s running through my system.”

“Your bodily system or your remote access?”

He smiled. “I am remote access. I can make my body make the footprint untraceable. You’re perfectly safe.” He looked at Barry. “I’m ready to check it out when you are.”

He nodded. Cisco took his seat and sailed across the keys himself. “Lucky for us the VA finally joined the new millennium and digitized their records. A lot of redacted info. But our girl's name is Bette Sans Souci, an EOD specialist for the army.”

“EOD?”

“Bombs,” Cisco, Grace and Carter said in unison.

“Is there an address?”

“Hold on. Here, we go. One person in case of emergency. Inglewood.”

Barry went alone this time, while Grace stayed behind to help figure out other stuff with it. After he left, Carter looked down at Grace. “I’m gonna run. My parents are leaving tomorrow on their cruise and I promised that I’d spend the day with them.”

“Okay. Tell Blake, mom and dad I said hi,” she called over her shoulder.

“I will. Call you later.”

* * *

Grace looked up to see Cisco eyeing her and she rolled her eyes. He’d been doing that for 20 minutes. “What’s up?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“My ass,” she muttered. “What’s up?”

“How come you never went into detail about him?”

Caitlin sighed. “Come on, Cisco, if she had you’d be feeling even weirder than you do now about him.”

“Which is why I didn’t tell you.” She looked at him. “Look, Cisco, if we’re going to work then you’re going to have to get used to the fact that Carter is my best friend and he’s not going anywhere.”

“I just don’t know why you never told me--”

She groaned. “You’re kidding, right? Dude, you saw a picture of him at our family dinner. Why are you freaking out?”

“Well, he didn't look the guy who was just here."

She scoffed. "He's always been a good looking guy. Why are you so bothered by this?"

"Well, you’re all about telling the truth but yet you withheld the fact that--”

Her blue eyes blazed. “Don’t you dare turn this on me like that!” she yelled. “I thought I was doing you a favor by not telling you descriptors about him. What was I supposed to say, Cisco, huh? He has beautiful brown hair, gorgeous blue eyes that makes you want to drown in them and a smile that could even make an old married woman swoon?” She put her hands on her hips and stood her ground. “Would that have been better?”

“So you have noticed?”

She groaned in frustration. “You’re fucking unbelievable you know that?!”

“Uh, guys, Barry went off-grid.”

Grace glared at him and turned to the computer. “What?”

“He’s not there.”

“BARRY!” Grace yelled into the microphone. Her heart plummeted to the floor. “Barry!”

“Barry!” Cisco said.

“There must be a perfectly reasonable explanation for why he's not answering. Barry?”

They heard the whooshing sound and seen him walking in from the medical room putting a STAR Labs t-shirt on.

“Uh…”

“Don't ask.”

“I'm gonna ask. Where's my suit?”

“It's...gone.”

“What do you mean, it's gone? What did you do with my suit?”

“It blew up, dude. I managed to get out of it before it went, “kaboom.””

“It blew up?” Grace asked running her hand through her hair.

He nodded.

“My suit went “kaboom”?”Cisco asked.

Grace glared at Cisco. “Your suit isn’t important right now.”

Barry looked between the two of them. “Fun fact about Bette Sans Souci. She's not carrying bombs. She touched the emblem on the suit and turned it into a bomb. She's a meta-human.”

“With the ability to cause spontaneous combustion upon tactile contact,” Wells added.

Grace sighed. “You’re kidding?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“Are you okay?” his sister asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“She blew up my suit.”

“You have, like, three more.”

“Okay, I have two. And I loved that one.”

“All right, what else do we know about her?” Barry asked.

“Oh, I don't know. She's pure evil,” Cisco said turning to the computer. “We're gonna find this girl and send her butt into the pipeline. No one blows my tech to smithereens and gets away with it…” He brought up a picture of her. “Unless she looks like that.”

Barry looked from Cisco to Grace, then back to Cisco. “Dude, my sister’s in the room.”

She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, B. I got to get to work anyway.” She tapped Cisco on the shoulder. “Good luck in your delusion mindset, Ramon.”

Barry lifted a brow to Cisco as Joe walked into the room saying, “And why he stole the case from us. He didn't want anyone to know what she could do.”

Wells smiled. “Detective.”

“Doctor.” He looked at everyone. “So...human bomb. Must be Tuesday in Central City.”

“Yes, and General Eiling's not one to give up a potential asset without a fight.”

“We have to find her before he does.”

Joe looked from Barry to Cisco then back at Barry. “Does anyone want to tell me why my baby girl walked out of here angrier than I’ve ever seen her?” He eyed everyone in the room. He lifted a brow. “Anyone?”

Barry looked at Cisco. Cisco sighed. “We had a fight.”

Joe inhaled and said, “So, you’re actually arguing now?” He lifted his eyes to Barry. “Huh?” He glared at Cisco. “If you hurt her…I’m a cop, remember that.”

He nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Barry? Can I see you for a second?” They walked out of the Cortex and into the hall. “When were you planning on telling me that Iris saw the streak?”

“That was not planned. She caught me off guard.”

“We had a deal. You keep her in the dark about the meta-humans, and I don't go Floyd Mayweather on you.”

“Okay, Joe, I know.”

“And she's writing a blog now.”

“I already talked to her about that.”

“Talk to her again. And be more convincing.”

“Okay.” He looked into the man’s dark eyes. “You mean, right now?”

“Yes, I do.”

“All right.” Barry raced off.

* * *

“You've got to stop writing about this guy. He doesn't even exist,” Barry insisted.

“I saw him, Barry. He wears a red suit, like, a uniform or something, with a lighting bolt on his chest.”

“I mean, Iris, come on. You were drinking last night at the bar.”

“I was not drunk, and I know what I saw. He wears a mask. I think he smiled at me.”

“Okay, first of all, if he is wearing a mask, that probably means he doesn't want people to know who he is.”

“It doesn't matter who he is. What matters is that people know that he's out there.” She stared into his eyes. “What is wrong with you? This is important to me. Why can't you be more supportive?”

“I'm just... you haven't even put your name on it. How serious can you be about an anonymous blog?”

“Okay, you know what? Our entire lives, you couldn't scream loud enough that the impossible existed. And now it's actually happening in Central City. I have proof of it, and you don't want to know about it? That doesn't make sense, Barry. So when you're ready to tell me what this whole routine is really about, then we can talk.”

His phone vibrated and Iris walked away, pulling her own out. She hit one contact. “Hey, Gracie, it’s me.”

“Hey,” she said, still fuming. “Everything okay?”

“Can you talk?”

“Yeah. I’m meeting up with Carter at the park, wanna join us?”

“Yeah. Which entrance?”

“East entrance.”

“Okay. See you in a few.”

* * *

Carter looked at both women that he loved more than anything--of course, on different levels. They’d been sitting here for about 20 minutes and neither was talking. He put his fork down and looked at both of them. “Look, not that I’m not enjoying the company, but would one of you mind talking?”

Iris exhaled. “Barry’s driving me crazy. I mean, for our entire lives all he’s been doing is screaming about the impossible and now that the impossible is happening he’s not being supportive at all.” She looked at both of them. “It’s so confusing.” She wiped her fingers. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Carter nodded and looked at Grace and she tilted her head in a ‘I-don’t-know’ kind of gesture. “Okay, well, here’s a thought. Have you ever thought that maybe he’s trying to protect you?”

“Protect me from what?”

“The Streak and the Flying Lady,” he clarified. “I mean, we don’t know why they showed up when they did. We don’t know what they want.”

Grace smirked and took a drink of her soda. “Are you saying that they’re aliens?”

He shrugged. “You never know.”

She smirked into her pasta salad and shook her head. She looked at her sister. “Look, Sis, crazy alien theory aside, Carter’s right. He could be protecting you. You know how Barry is with you and me.”

She nodded. “Right.” She sighed. “What’s got you so pissed?”

“My boyfriend,” she answered. “He’s pissed off at me for not informing him that Carter was a good looking guy.” She sighed. “He tried to turn it around me like I didn’t tell him because…” She looked at Iris. “I knew he’d get crazy if he knew that Carter was a good-looking guy with blue eyes and dark hair.”

Carter laughed. “Thank you.”

She shrugged. “You’ve always known I thought you were attractive.” She looked at Iris. “He’s trying to imply that I didn’t tell him because there’s something going on.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, good Lord.”

“That since I’m all about secrets and stuff that it should have been something I told him.”

“What the hell does my looks have to do with our friendship?”

Iris smiled. “Oh, Baby, they don’t. It’s the fact that Grace didn’t tell Cisco. To which you shouldn’t have to.” She picked up her soda and sipped from the straw. “Carter’s a member of our family. It was only right that we finally introduced them.”

“I just find it weird that he wants me to do all the talking, especially when it’s about Carter but it’s like the original reason as to why we’re on the outs right now wasn’t there at all.”

“My status in this family shouldn’t have anything to do with you and Cisco,” Carter reminded her.

“I know that!” she said. “I just…I don’t know what to do.” She smirked into the blanket. “CJ, do you know how you’ve always said that when I get angry my mouth makes things funny?”

He nodded as he chewed his pasta. “Yeah, what about it?”

“I said and I quote: ‘What was I supposed to say, Cisco, huh? He has beautiful brown hair, gorgeous blue eyes that makes you want to drown in them and a smile that could even make an old married woman swoon?” She laughed and shrugged as they laughed. “I got mad.”

He shook his head as he continued to laugh. “Now see, I find your words adorable, and if it was me the argument would have died right there, but saying something like that will piss him off, Grace.”

She sighed. “I know, but he pissed me off. I mean, how many times do I have to say until one of us ends it that I’m absolutely faithful to him and I will be until then?”

Carter and Iris both looked at each other and Iris shrugged. She had a point. She should only have to say it once or twice. No more than that. “Okay, Touche, Allen.”

Iris smiled. “So, tell me Gracie, what are you going to do with your millions?”

She laughed and wiped her mouth. “Well, I’ve been thinking…”

* * *

Wells looked at Barry. “Call your sister and Dr. Stephens.”

He nodded. He texted Carter and called Grace. “Hey, Kiddo. We need you.” He smiled. “Okay. See you in a few.”

About 10 minutes later, Grace and Carter both walked into the Cortex. Cisco looked at them both, but didn’t say anything. Wells began explaining the explosion. “As the detonation dispersed throughout Central City. A number of people were exposed to a wave of unquantifiable energy. One of those people...was you. You were in Central City ten months ago.”

Caitlin handed her a pair of gloves. She began putting them on. “I had just returned from Afghanistan. I was there defusing roadside bombs and...shrapnel ripped through me. I was flown back state side. Spent months at the base recuperating and next thing I know, I became the thing that almost killed me. And Eiling's favorite, new lab rat.”

“The dark matter must have combined with the bomb particulate inside your body,” Caitlin said.

“I thought Eiling did this to me.”

“Eiling is not smart enough to create someone like you. Clever enough to see your value.”

“Do you know of any others who were changed?”

“There've been a few.”

“But no one that looks like you,” Cisco flirted. “I'm sorry. That was inappropriate. Please don't leave.”

“I know how to perform a lobotomy.”

Grace glared at him and then exhaled. “Let’s get you set up for the tests.”

She nodded. “What do you do here?”

“Um…I guess you could say I’m an extraction expert,” she said. “I help my brother find people like you and bring them here to see if the scientists can fix you.”

Barry looked at Wells and Carter. “Do you think we can help her?”

“To answer that question, we have to understand how she works, and to understand that, first we have to study her in action.”

“You want her to blow stuff up. Yes, now we're talking,” Cisco said excitedly.

“Not in here. She's too unstable.”

“I know. I know you know.”

“You could always take her to Ferris Airfield? That’s where Grace and I did some of our experiments.”

Wells smiled. “Thank you, Doctor.”

Cisco looked up at him. “You and Grace have been doing a lot of experiments together, huh? Which means you spent a lot of hours together.”

Carter nodded. “Yep. And before you go into the land of the weird nothing has ever happened between me and Grace. And while you’re with her nothing ever will.”

“But you’re saying you want there to be?”

He looked at the man. He knew what he was fishing for. “I’d be a fool not to,” he admitted. “However, I don’t plan on ever being the other man in a relationship and I will not help my best friend cheat on you.” He looked at him. “Whether you believe it or not she still cares about you, loves you even, so don’t screw that up. Girls like Grace are one in a million.” He looked into the observation room. “Dr. Wells, Caitlin found something.”

They watched as Caitlin extracted something from Bette’s arm. Carter narrowed his eyes and his sight magnified. “Oh, shit. It’s a tracker.”

Wells looked up at Carter. “Go with Grace. He looked at Cisco. “Lockdown the Pipeline. Grace, get Bette out of here.”

* * *

They got Bette into the portable lab van and off to a spot that was perfect to test her ability to blow things up. Carter watched as she blew up a frisbee and other objects. He looked around and found Grace pacing. He got Barry’s attention and nodded toward Grace. Barry walked to him. “That’s not good. Usually she does that when…”

“She’s pissed.”

He nodded. “Go. I can handle this.”

He nodded. He jogged toward her. He walked beside her and caught onto her pace. “I’ll race ya.”

She shook her head. “No. I’m so pissed and frustrated right now I’d probably end up in Happy Harbor or something.”

He shrugged. “I’m game for some ice cream if you are.”

She laughed and hugged him around the middle. She sighed. “Just walk with me?”

“Anywhere.”

They started walking and they fell silent as they walked. “Is there something about me that makes guys…” she groaned. “I mean, I know it’s normal for guys to see women and think they’re hot or whatever, but--”

“No. What Cisco did is not a normal thing. You guys are so topsy-turvy right now, Gracie, that you all need to figure out where in the hell you stand with each other.” Being far enough away, Carter stopped her. “And for the record not all guys would ever see another woman if they were with you.” He looked deep into her eyes.

Warmth swirled in her belly as her heart hammered in her chest. She couldn’t seem to pull her eyes from his. After a few moments she finally pulled her eyes away and sighed.

Cisco looked at Barry as he hung up his phone. “What was that about?”

“Iris posted about the streak again. She signed her name to it.”

“Oh, that's not good.”

“No.”

“If one of these bad meta-humans we're dealing with figures she knows something…”

“Then they may target her, I know.” He sighed. “Looks like a job for the Streak and Gaia.” He cupped his hands around his mouth, “GRACE! CARTER!”

“What are they doing that far away anyway?”

“I don’t know,” Barry muttered. “Probably just talking.”

Bette spun around when she seen Grace jet-propel herself forward beating Carter to Barry in seconds. “How…how did you do that?”

She smiled. “The same thing that happened to you happened to me and him.” She looked at her brother. “What’s up?”

“I need your help.”

Carter looked questionably at his friend. “What’s going on?”

“Iris is writing about the Streak and the Flying Lady again and this time she signed her name to it.”

“She did what?!” Grace exclaimed.

Cisco looked at her a little confused. “I thought you were for it?”

“Yeah, when she was an unknown blogger. Now she’s a target.” She looked at Barry and Carter. “I’m coming.”

“But we don’t have a way for you to disguise your voice,” Barry reminder her.

“Actually…” Carter said and jogged to the van.

Cisco looked at the siblings. “What’s he gonna do?”

“He’s gonna MacGyver something together,” Barry told him. “Like he always did.”

“Come here, Grace.”

She jogged to him. She watched him pull apart his cell phone and use a black plastic box. He put the speaker into it and closed the box. He quickly worked on it and they watched as it came together. He looked around and smiled when he saw Grace’s belt. “Do you need that?”

“What do you mean? My belt?”

“Yeah. Is it holding the pants up?”

She shook her head. “No. It just went with the pants and shirt, why?”

“Take it off, please?”

She took it off and handed it to him. He strapped the box to the belt and he looked up at her. “Come here.” She walked up to him and told her to turn around. He lifted his arms and put the new device in front of her. “Do you trust me?”

“You’re joking, right?”

He smiled. “Just making sure.” He put the belt around her neck and measured her neck. Then he took it off and refashioned the buckle. He put it back on and then said, “Talk.”

“What should I--” her voice stopped. The device had made her voice deeper. She pulled the box away from her throat and looked at him. “What about your cell phone?”

He smiled. “Gracie, I’m a multi-millionaire, remember? I can afford another cell phone, don’t worry about it.” He smiled and kissed her forehead. “Now go.” He looked at Barry. “Good luck.”

Cisco nodded. “That was pretty cool. How’d you do it?”

He shrugged. “My grandpa and my dad were always tinkering with stuff. I picked it up from them.”

* * *

They got to Jitters at closing and Grace said she’d meet them on the roof. Barry went inside, jingling the bell to announce himself after he knocked. “Sorry, we're closed,” Iris said absently as she cleaned up.

He sped into the room and she turned, gasped. “Oh, my God, it's you.”

Making his voice vibrate he said, “Iris West, I hear you've been writing about me and my sister.”

“You are real. I should, um... let me just clean up…” Before she could even start the room was clean.

He smiled. “Meet me on the roof. I'll give you a head start.” He winked at her.

On the roof, Grace waited. Barry sat on the ledge above the door and watched as Iris walked out. “I need you to stop writing about us.”

“There are a lot of people who need someone like you right now. To know that you're out there. I have so many questions. Where are you from?”

“I can't say. Who are you?”

“I can't tell you that, either.”

“How can you do what you do?”

Neither of them answered at first, but Gaia did. “Doesn’t matter.”

“You're a terrible interview.”

“There's more to this than you can understand. Just trust me, please. I need you to stop.”

“My brother’s right. What you’re doing could put you in danger.”

“Can you stop? Can either of you stop? Running or flying into buildings and rescuing people without them even knowing that you're there?”

“I don't do this for the glory.”

“Neither of us do.”

“So why do you?”

Neither of them answered this time.

“Look, I have this friend, an he had something terrible happen to him when he was a kid. His whole life, he's been telling stories about this impossible thing. And people laughed at him. And shrinks analyzed him. And he's been searching for an explanation ever since. But now, suddenly, it's like he's lost his faith. But you... you are proof that he wasn't crazy.”

Grace couldn’t argue the logic behind it.

“Help me save my friend.”

* * *

The next morning, Barry and Grace went to STAR Labs to check in on Bette. Grace smiled at Cisco. “Good morning.”

“Morning.”

They both instantly got the vibe going on in the room. “Hey, what's wrong? Did Eiling find out you're here?”

“No. Caitlin was about to give me the not-so-good news,” Bette informed them.

Caitlin began, “The shrapnel in your body has merged with you on a cellular level.”

“And the technology required to unsplice your DNA... it hasn't been invented yet.”

“Oh, God…” Grace murmured.

“Bette.” Barry attempted to step forward.

“It's okay. Roger that. I just need a minute. Don't worry. Pretty sure I can cry without blowing stuff up.”

“What now?”

“She joins us,” Barry told them. “Becomes a part of the team.”

“Right. I agree with Barry. We can’t just abandon her.”

“Barry...Grace…you both have amazing abilities to help people. She makes things explode.”

Grace exhaled deeply. “This sucks.” She started walking out.

“She's the first meta-human not hell-bent on destroying this city.”

“It's too dangerous.”

“Well, she's not going in the pipeline.”

“I'm not suggesting she go in the pipeline, but were she to remain at S.T.A.R. Labs, it would put all of us at risk.”

“From who? Eiling?”

“Eiling is a dangerous man, Barry. We do not want him as an enemy.”

“After the lighting bolt, what if you hadn't found me? It could've been me. Hunted, on the run, cut off from everyone I know and care about. You guys saved me.”

“What about me?” Grace said. “Cisco you of all people know how dangerous I felt.”

“Right, but Gracie, this is a completely different situation. We can’t control her abilities.”

Caitlin looked at them both. “And I want to save her just as bad as you guys do. We all do.”

Grace sighed. “This sucks!” She walked out of the room and completely out of the Lab.

Barry looked at Cisco. “What’s going on with you two?"

He sighed. "I don't know, man. We've been fighting." He sighed. "We never fight."

Barry laughed. "Dude, all couples fight. You'll figure it out."

He hoped they could anyway or things may just get even more awkward at "work".

* * *

That night, Barry walked into his lab to see Carter and Joe going over his mom’s case. Joe. Carter. What are you guys doing here?”

“Going over the materials in your mom’s case.”

Carter looked through the box. “I didn’t know you still had all this stuff.”

Barry shrugged. Joe looked at him. “How's it going with you?”

“Stellar... I made friends with a human bomb who I promised I could help, and then, I couldn't.” He sighed and leaned against the pillar. “And I finally diagnosed why Iris is writing about the streak. She's doing it for me. To prove the impossible is possible.”

“How do you know that?”

“The streak may have talked to her.”

“You talked to her?” Carter asked.

“Barry, don't you think Iris would recognize your voice?”

“I thought Grace was going to talk to her which is why I made the voice desguiser choker thing.”

“No, I can do this cool thing with my vocal cords, where I vibrate them so I sound like this,” he said and sounded like he had when he was talking to her.

Both Carter and Joe laughed in disbelief.

Barry smiled. “I know. It's cool, it's cool.”

“Whoa. Well, you put that out there now, so. I want to keep her safe.”

“You know the only real way to get her to stop is to tell her the truth.”

“Man, you really want to tell her.”

“I tell her everything.”

“Mmm,” Joe hummed.

While Carter muttered into his coffee, “Liar.”

“Not everything,” Joe said.

Realizing what he meant, Barry sighed. “Is it that obvious?”

“Not to her.”

“But how long have you known for?” he asked Joe.

“I have watched you be in love with Iris since you were old enough to know what love is. And I've been waiting years for you to tell her. But you haven't.”

“Guess I was too slow. Now, she's happy and with someone else, so…”

“When the universe wants to make something happen, whether it be giving a young man lighting speed or putting two people together, it has a way of figuring those things out.”

Barry smiled. “Well, there’s no progress with Cisco and Grace. I think there's going to be tough decisions coming their way."

Carter sighed. "Oh, man..."

Barry nodded. "Yeah. It's gonna suck."

* * *

The next morning, they went to STAR Labs to check on Bette again and found that she had left. They tracked her and found her waiting at the waterfront for Eiling. Cisco stared at the screen. “She’s turning herself in.”

“No, she’s not,” Grace said.

They rushed off and changed quickly. They headed for the waterfront.

They got to the waterfront just in time to stop Bette from killing Eiling. Barry stepped in front of her. Grace glared at the soldiers as Barry talked to Bette. “What are you doing here?”

“Being a soldier doesn't mean you're a murderer. Don't become one now.”

Grace turned her head to see who it was pointed at and yelled, “Gun!”

But it went past him and hit Bette. He knelt down. “I'm sorry. I didn't see him.”

“Don't be. It's not your fault. I'm glad you stopped me.”

Grace knelt in front of Eiling. “You sonofabitch!” she punched him in the face, knocking him out cold. She glared at the other soldiers. “Shoot your weapons and I’ll fry you where you lay.”

Barry watched as Bette began to glow. “Gracie.”

She rushed to her brother. She tapped her chest. “Guys, we have a problem. Bette’s about to detonate.”

“Oh, my God, a mass that size, the explosion, it would be…”

“Devastating.”

“Barry, you have to get her away from the city.”

“But there's no time. Can I run on water? I built up enough speed to run up a building. How fast do I need to go to run on water?”

“Assuming your weight…” Cisco began the calculations. “450 pounds of force per step for vertical suspension. Accounting for fluid drag.”

“Approximately 650 miles an hour.”

“You have to outrun the blast or you'll die too,” Cisco said.

Grace stopped her brother. “Barry, let me do it. I can handle the water and more than likely the blast too.”

He shook his head. “Thank you for the offer, Kiddo, but I’m the oldest I get to make the hard decisions.”

She sighed as he lifted Bette into his arms. He began to run and Grace yelled, “I’m not five anymore, you know!”

She folded her hands and watched as her brother raced across the water and dropped Bette into the depths of the water. She balled her hands and began whispering, “Come on, come on, come on….” She watched the water plume and she rocketed into the air and hovered over the water. She stared at the water as she held her hands out and slowed down the water-explosion so that her brother could get ahead of it. She dropped her hands and landed at the shore. She rushed to him. “Hey. You okay?”

He nodded. “How…how did you do that?”

She shrugged. “Not exactly sure. I just did everything I could to slow down the water so you could get ahead of it.”

He hugged her. “I love you, Kiddo.”

She smiled. “I love you too.”

* * *

Grace walked into the West home and saw Iris staring off out of the bay window. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she said absently, her eyes never leaving the window. “Dinner’s in the kitchen.”

“Thank you,” she murmured. Her heart stopped when she saw a tear slide down her cheek. “Iris, what is it?” Grace asked coming to her.

Without words, Iris stood and went into her arms, holding on. Grace hugged her and rubbed her back in soothing motions. “What happened?”

“Barry asked me one last…” she hiccuped as she sobbed into her shoulder.

“He asked you to stop writing your blog, didn’t he?”

She nodded. “And when I told him it wasn’t about what happened with your mom anymore he told me he didn’t want to…” she began sobbing into her shoulder harder.

Grace held on as her sister cried catching on to what he had said. “It’ll be okay, Iris. I promise. Everything will be just fine.”

At least she prayed it would.


	10. Central City's Dynamic Duo is Born

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Grace come up against a bully from their past. 
> 
> Grace discovers something about the way that Cisco, Caitlin and Dr. Wells trained her that ultimately makes her suspicious of Dr. Wells' true intentions. 
> 
> Gaia takes point against Tin Man and in the end meets with Iris to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, as you can see I changed some wording in Iris' blog, don't hate me.

“Tell me again why I’m taking up running?” Grace asked looking at her best friend. “I mean we could have gone shopping like we told dad we were.”

“Because Gracie, I think you need this.”

She smiled up at him. “You do realize I could just fly to wherever I need to go, right?”

He laughed and put his hands on her arms. “And that is why we’re doing this.” He smiled into her eyes. “Gracie, we used to run together all the time and you said you missed our usual scheduled friend meet-ups.”

She smiled and nodded, “You’re right.” She began stretching herself out. Despite his asthma, they used to workout together all the time. It was one of the things that bonded them. “And you’re right that I need it and that I’m becoming too dependant on my powers.”

He laughed. “I never said you were becoming dependant.”

She tapped his chest. “You didn’t have to.” She smiled up at him. “I do believe we read each other pretty well by now.”

He smiled. “That we do.” He walked up behind her and took her arms. He gently put them behind her and said, “Now bend forward.”

She did as he asked and kept her arms straight behind her as he stretched out the muscles. “Good job.”

She turned to face him again and began pulling one arm across her chest to stretch it. He looked at her outfit. “Aren’t you freezing?”

She shook her head. “No. My body no longer handles hot and cold like I did before the accident.”

“What do you mean?”

She smiled. “In cold weather I’m always warm. In warm weather I’m always cool.” She shook her head. “Being out here now in the sports bra and leggings doesn’t affect me anymore. It’s kinda like I can’t feel it.”

He nodded. “I know that feeling. My body hasn’t been the same either. It’s like I’m at a neutral body temperature all the time.”

She nodded. “That’s good you ran too hot anyway.”

He laughed. “All right, Sassy pants. Let’s do this.”

They took off in a steady sprint to start off.

* * *

Grace walked into the precinct and smiled at the desk sergeant. She headed for her dad’s desk. She smiled. “Good morning.”

Joe smiled. “Morning, Sweetheart.”

“You seem like you’re in a better mood,” Barry said with a smile.

Her smile went to her eyes and Joe realized he hadn’t seen that about 2 or 3 weeks. She handed him a cup. “Coffee?” she asked her brother.

“I could definitely use another. What’s gotten you into a good mood? Not that I’m complaining.”

She smiled. “I went on six mile run with Carter this morning.” She sipped her cappuccino. “It felt really good. I forgot how good it felt.”

“Good for you,” Joe said encouragingly. “Does this have anything to do with Cisco and you?”

She shrugged. “Yes and no,” she admitted. “Yes, because I’m getting my frustrations out. And no because it just felt good to be getting to our usual routine together--me and Carter.”

Barry nodded. “I’m with you there.”

She looked around. “Where’s Eddie? I got him one too.”

Joe smiled. “He’s taking point on the ATM burglary. He’s in Singh’s office.” He kissed her hair. “I’m running down a lead. Good to see you, Sweetheart.”

“You too, dad.”

He looked at Barry. “Help out, Eddie. He saw the impossible last night and needs you to explain it to him.”

He nodded. Grace smiled up at her brother. “Which is dad code for lie to him.”

He laughed. “Yes, I got that, Sis. Thank you.” He kissed her hair. “Meet me at the Lab and I’ll tell you everything.”

“Okay. I’m gonna get to work. Have a good day.”

“You too. Love you.”

“Love you.”

* * *

Grace walked into the Cortex. She saw Cisco and a little piece of her heart cracked a little. How did they end up where they were? She’d been wondering if she was being too sensitive about all this. She walked to her brother. “Hey, B, what’s up?”

“Tony’s back.”

Her heart plunged to her stomach. “You’re…joking, right?”

“What’s going on?” Caitlin asked.

They told them about Tony Woodward. Cisco pointed at Grace. “And you had encounters with him too?”

She nodded. “I told you I was the freak whose dad killed her mom.” She sighed. She hated thinking about Tony. That was one part of her childhood that she hated. “I wasn’t kidding. The one thing I could never figure out is why he targeted me when I was like in 4th grade at the time. I mean we shouldn’t have run in the same circles, you know?”

Barry nodded. He knew that Tony had traumatized her growing up. That was one thing he hated about not being able to fight him back. He looked up when he saw movement and smiled when he saw Carter. “Hey, Doc.”

Cisco looked over his shoulder. Carter smiled at the guy and headed for the Allens. Carter looked at them both. “He’s back?”

Barry nodded. “The only thing is, he’s now literally a man of Steel.”

“Steel?” both Carter and Grace said in unison.

He nodded. “He really messed me up last night.”

“Your childhood nemesis is now an unstoppable meta-human,” Cisco pointed out. “That is seriously messed up.”

“I had a childhood nemesis. Lexi La Roche. She used to put gum in my hair.”

“Jake Puckett. If I didn't let him copy my homework he'd give me a swirly.”

Grace looked at everyone. “Tony pushed me down a flight of stairs and I broke my wrist.”

“Now that we've established that we're all uber-nerds, and that I failed at being a big brother, what are we gonna do about Tony?”

Grace sighed. “B, that’s not fair. He had broken your arm before that.”

He smiled down at her. “You’re my little sister. It’s my job to protect you. Always has been.”

She sighed. There was no reason to argue with him now.

Cisco looked at them. “Glad you asked.” He waved them to follow him. They walked into the training room as he said, “We're gonna train you, man. Karate Kid style.”

They looked at a knight armor plated mannequin like contraption.

“Behold! I call him Girder,” Cisco said all proud.

Grace glanced at Carter and then looked at Cisco. “What is it?”

“It’s a training dummy.”

“For the record, not my idea.”

“Fighting is physics. It's not about strength. It's not about size. It's about energy and power. Channel your speed the right way and you can totally take this bad boy down.” He strapped on some kind of control box. “Now obviously your Girder is a moving target. So…” he moved some toggle switches and joysticks and the thing started moving, in a mechanical way.

Caitlin looked at everyone. “I have ice and bandages standing by.”

Grace looked at her best friend. “Are you going to say something?” she whispered. “You’re the boxer here.”

He shook his head. “No. I’m actually curious how this is going to work.”

She slapped at him and chuckled. “You’re so mean.”

He looked at Barry. “And after you realize that this isn’t going to work I could teach you.”

Cisco looked at him. “You know how to fight?”

He nodded. “I took it up in college, after I had gotten jumped outside my dorm.”

They watched as Barry dodged and weaved from the metal arms of the Girder. However, it caught him and slapped him twice in the torso. Barry went down. Grace immediately went to her knees and comforted him. She looked at Caitlin and Cisco. “We need to find out what kind of metal Tony’s made of now, maybe I could counteract it somehow.”

“How?” Carter asked.

“If anything I could light myself on fire and melt his ass down.”

Carter chuckled and Caitlin smiled. “That’s cute,” she murmured.

He shook his head. “Do not underestimate the Allen siblings’ loyalty to each other. It goes deeper than we could even begin to guess.” He smiled down at them both. “Not counting Joe, Barry’s always been her hero.”

******************

Grace cleared her throat and looked at Cisco. “Um…I know we’re kinda…I don’t know, but if you don’t have any plans with your family for Thanksgiving. You’re more than welcome to come to ours.”

“Who’s all going to be there?”

“Um…well, dad, Iris, Barry, me and Carter.” She shrugged. “Just like every holiday when the Stephens’ don’t have holiday plans. Mike and Angie--Carter’s parents--would have been there but Carter sent them on a cruise for their anniversary.”

“I’ll have to check with my mom. I’m not sure what’s going on or if she’ll be happy about me missing a holiday.”

She nodded. “Okay. Well, the offers open.”

* * *

Carter heard his cell phone ringing over the whirring of the tool he was using and turned it off. He looked at the caller ID and smiled, “Detective. What do I owe the pleasure.”

“I wanna run something really crazy by you, but it stays between us for now. I’ll bring in Grace before Barry, but I wanna be sure.”

“Okay. Could this possibly hurt either of them?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“Then I’m so there. What do you need?”

“Where are you?”

“My parents’ garage. Come on over. The doors are open.”

“On my way.”

Joe came to his house and walked into the garage. “I think I was just diverted.”

“By who?” Carter asked taking his safety glasses off. “And what’s this about?”

“Nora’s murder. There’s more and more evidence pointing to the fact that Barry was telling the truth that night. I went to talk to Wells and he basically told me that what Barry saw that night couldn’t have happened because he hadn’t built the Particle Accelerator. So, as a scientist yourself, I’m asking and please be honest, could there be another person like him?”

Carter thought carefully about his response to this question. “Well, scientifically speaking, absolutely.” He saw the look in Joe’s eyes. “It’s true that the Particle Accelerator started the lightning storm that struck Barry, but if you want my scientific opinion, he’s diverting your attention for some reason or another. I don’t know why. He’s not thinking in the weather probabilities.” He sighed. “Gracie is better at probabilities than I am, but I do think it’s possible to get struck by lightning like Barry had and end up with his powers.” He tossed the safety glasses on the table. “The next question is why that person targeted the Allens that night?”

He sighed. “You know Gracie had an irrational theory when we were growing up.”

“What is it?”

“Time travel,” he admitted. “She never verbalized it because it sounded ridiculous but she thought it could be possible.” He shrugged. “We had just watched Back to the Future too, so…”

He nodded. “Right. What do you think?”

He sighed. “I have learned that in science anything’s possible if you know the right formula to get there.”

Joe nodded. “Right. So my next mission is to figure out if Henry or Nora had enemies.”

He nodded. “If you need anymore of my help I’m here and only a phone call away otherwise.”

He nodded. “You ever coming home?”

He nodded. “When I finish up these European deals I planned on it. It just take only a few more months, a year at the most.”

He nodded. “Good. We miss you here.”

He smiled. “I miss you guys too.”

* * *

Grace walked into Jitters as one of the waitresses talked to Iris about where Barry had disappeared to. “I've been meaning to ask you, where's your shadow?”

“What shadow?”

“Barry. He hasn't been in all week.”

“Getting his fix somewhere else.”

“Too bad. He's cute, I kind of miss having him around.”

Grace smiled. “Hey, Sis.”

Iris turned and smiled. “Hey, Honey. How’s it going?”

“Good,” she said. “I invited Cisco to Thanksgiving.”

“Is he coming?”

She shrugged. “Don’t know. He said he’d have to check with his mom.” She sighed. “I’m trying. I really am.”

She rubbed her back. “I know you are, Sweetheart. I know. Like dad said, we’ll figure it out.”

“Iris? Long time no see.”

Grace looked up and saw Tony. She pulled her phone out and pressed record, shoving it into her pocket. Iris backed into Grace. Grace took her hand. He looked at Grace and then looked Iris up and down. “I got to say, Iris, you look amazing.”

“Thanks, Tony. Um, you too.”

“Oh, yeah. I keep in shape. I got a gym at my place.” He looked at Grace.

“Who’s your friend?”

“She’s not only my friend, Tony, but my sister. You remember Grace Allen, right?”

He looked Grace up and down and her stomach churned violently. “Wow…you really filled out, Gracie.”

She glared at him. “Don’t call me that.”

He looked back at Iris. “Been living out in Keystone on he West Side, and you should, uh...you should stop by sometime.”

Iris didn’t say anything. “So, uh, can I get you a drink?”

“No, I came to see you.”

“How did you know I was here?”

“I've been reading up on The Streak. Found your little blog. Why are you writing about this guy?” He came closer and Grace pulled her away.

“People say that he's a hero.”

“I say he's a coward, and I happen to know that he took a beating last night and ran off like a little girl. You should write about that.” He came closer to her.

“Back off, Tony,” Grace told him.

“Do you have any idea who leather boy is?” He eyed Grace. “Either of you?”

“No clue.”

Grace glared at him. “Even if we did we wouldn’t tell you.”

Tony smirked. “You were always a mouthy little thing.”

Her eyes never left his even if she was shaking inside. “Try it. Trust me it won’t be like the last time.”

“Gracie,” Iris whispered. She squeezed her fingers. She turned back to Tony. “So, um, if you don't want a drink I should probably get back to work.”

“Actually I'd prefer to buy you a drink. What time you off?”

“Thanks, Tony, but I don't think my boyfriend would approve. He's a cop, like my dad.”

“I never really did like cops too much.”

“Iris!” the blond waitress exclaimed in a whisper.

She glanced at the TV with Grace and pulled her phone out. “Well he's picking me up for the policeman's ball. Wall to wall cops. Can't swing a cat. I should probably call him to see where he is…”

Seeing the broadcast too, he ordered, “Give me the phone, Iris. Now!”

She jerked in fright, but handed it over.

They watched as his arm turned to steel and he crushed her phone in his hand. He put it into the tip jar. “I'm sorry.” He pulled out a wad of cash. “Uh, for the damage. We'll pick this up some other time.”

He walked out and Grace turned off the recorder. She shot a text to Barry telling him to gather everyone and meet her at STAR Labs and then texted Carter asking him to meet her at Jitters. She looked at her sister. “You okay?”

Iris nodded. “Yeah. I think so. Did you see his arm?”

“Yeah, I did.” She sighed. “I’m calling dad.” She hit Joe’s contact. “Dad, it’s me. Iris and I are at Jitters. Um…we had an encounter with Tony.”

“Okay. I’ll tell Eddie.”

“Thank you. Love you.”

“I love you, Sweetheart.”

* * *

“Barry! Check it out,” Cisco said as he came into the training room. “The gravel you pulled from Tony's ride? It contains 76.8% hematite. Consistent with the mines at Keystone Ironworks.”

“Which closed down ten months ago. It's the perfect hideout.”

“Oh, yeah, perfect.” Grace looked at Barry. “And by the way, when dad told us that he’d grow out of the intimidation factor.” She shook her head. “Nope. Not so much.”

Barry rushed to her. “What happened? Are you okay?”

She nodded. She looked at Cisco. “Trust me. I’m fine.” She exhaled. “However, I got something for you.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“Two somethings actually. One, Iris saw his hand turn to metal. I don’t know how we’ll explain that away. Two, I recorded the confrontation.” She pulled her phone out and brought up the recording. “Listen.”

Cisco looked at her. “He didn’t recognize you?”

She shook her head. “No. Which by the way, it totally creeped me out that he said, ‘I filled out nicely’.” She shivered. “Eww.”

Carter chuckled and kissed her hair. “It’s okay, Gracie. You’ll get him this time.”

She nodded. She looked at Cisco. “Did I hear you say ‘hematite’?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Why?”

“Hematite is a form of iron. Oxidized iron. It’s one of the more important minerals of iron actually.” She smiled. “However, it does have a weakness.”

Barry looked at his sister’s mischievous look. “What is it?”

“Water.”

“Water?”

She nodded. “Geologically speaking if it gets wet in any way it can break down the structure of it.”

Cisco stared at her. “How…how do you know all this stuff?”

“Photographic memory. I read it in my geology book.” She smiled. “Plus, I’ve been learning about the Earth’s elements lately to better understand my powers.”

Caitlin walked into the room and asked, “Barry, do you mind telling me about this? "I have info about someone you're looking for. He was here. You know where to find me." Now who could she be talking to?” she looked at him suspiciously.

Grace sighed. “Leave it alone, Caitlin, really.” She looked at Barry. “Go.”

* * *

Caitlin, Cisco, Carter and Grace watched his dot race through the City. Carter shook his head. “Damn, he’s pissed.”

“Barry, talk to us. What are you doing?” Caitlin looked at Cisco.

“Dude, don't run angry. We don't know how to defeat him yet.” He shrugged to Grace.

“B, hey, don’t do this. If you race in there you’ll only get hurt worse.”

“Hey, Kiddo, it’ll be okay.” He looked around and found the melted metal. “This is definitely the place.”

“You're trespassing, freak!”

“There's nowhere left to run.”

Grace watched the dot stay in one spot. “Barry!” she said into her comm. She looked at everyone and rushed out of the cortex and flew into the sky. “Grace!” Caitlin yelled.

“I got her,” Carter told them and jumped and they watched him shrink down and basically use the telephone and lamp poles to get to his friends.

“Crap,” Cisco said. “I didn’t know he could shrink down.”

“Me neither.” They got into the van and raced to the Ironworks building.

Grace landed and lit her hands on fire as she quietly went through the building looking for her brother.

“Gracie!”

She turned to see Carter behind her. “Shh!”

He looked at the fire in her hands. “Nice.”

She smiled. “Thanks.” She saw him bunch of metal piled on top of him and rushed to him. “Barry!” She looked at Carter. “We gotta get this off of him!”

“Barry!”

“Over here, guys!”

Grace channeled her power and the strength with lifting and pushed the metal off of her brother. She humphed. “Huh. I guess I do have super-strength.”

“Nice, Angel.” He looked at Barry. “Hang on. We’ll get you to STAR Labs.”

* * *

“What were you thinking? What were you thinking?” Wells yelled. “I told you that we would figure out a way to deal with him.”

“I'll heal.”

“You can't heal when you're dead. He could have killed you.”

“Lay off a little,” Grace defended.

“I know, all right? I know! In the past 36 hours I've had my ass handed to me twice by the guy that tortured me as a kid. I couldn't stop him then, and I can't stop him now! Even with my powers I'm still powerless against him.”

“Barry, we’ll figure it out.”

“Not necessarily,” Wells said at the same time. “Cisco? Any material, if struck at a high enough velocity can be compromised.”

“We ran an analysis on the metal in Tony's footprint. Based on its density and atomic structure, if you impact it at just the right angle, at just the right speed, you could do some serious damage.”

“How fast would I have to go?”

“Factoring in the metal's tensile strength, estimated dermal thickness, atmospheric pressure, air temp, you'd have to hit him at approximately... Mach 1.1.”

“Are you insane?!” both Carter and Grace exclaimed in surprise.

“You want Barry to hit something at 800 miles an hour?” Caitlin asked for clarification.

“837, actually.”

“That's faster than the speed of sound.”

“I know. He would create a sonic boom, which, as I've said before, would be awesome.”

Grace looked at her boyfriend. “Are you hearing yourself right now? You’re actually encouraging my brother to do this?”

“I've never gone that fast.”

“Yet,” Wells insisted.

Grace looked at the man in the wheelchair suspiciously. Why was he pushing this so hard? 

Carter looked at everyone in the room and turned away in disbelief. Caitlin began first. “I can't believe we're actually entertaining this idea. I mean, he'd need a straight shot from miles away.”

“Yeah, 5.3 Miles, theoretically.”

“Do it right, you'll take him down,” Wells told him.

“Do it wrong, you'll shatter every bone in your body,” Caitlin pointed out.

“She’s right,” Carter told him. “Or you know we could actually let Grace go up against this guy.” He looked at everyone in the room and said, “You know the one with the actual power to fight this guy.”

Cisco shook his head and said, “No. It’s not safe--”

“And you think encouraging my brother to go at a speed he hasn’t reached yet is safe?!” she yelled. She glared at everyone in the room. “What in the hell was the point of me joining my brother in protecting this God damn City if you’re going to treat me like the fucking princess in the tower?!” She said and squeezed her hands around the railing that was on the computer tables.

They watched as they crushed instantly.

She glared at Cisco, then Caitlin, then Wells. It all made sense now. All of it. True they showed her enough about her powers to basically make her believe that they were trying to help her control it, but… “You know what? I should have taken the hint when you all pretty much held me back from discovering my powers’ full potential even before Barry woke up from the coma.” She sighed. “I hate to break it to all of you but I got these damn powers because of a mistake that happened in this damn building. But instead of letting me figure out the full potential of these powers--the powers that I got because of that mistake--you’re all catering to my brother as if he’s the answer to it all.” She narrowed her eyes at them. “Well, guess what? I’m out.” She glared at Wells. “You want me out, I’m out.” She took a breath and walked out of the building.

Carter looked at everyone, then at Barry. Barry looked shocked, but he spoke. “Is that true?” Barry asked.

“What?” Caitlin asked.

“Is it true that you’ve been holding her back?”

“Well, I--” Cisco stopped. He sighed. “I didn’t want to see her get hurt!” he defended.

“Oh my God!” Carter yelled. “Neither of you have actually got to know her at all have you?!” He walked away and came back. “Because if you did you’d know that nothing will piss her off more or make her want to prove herself more than if you basically tell her she can’t do something.”

“Carter’s right--”

“Of course he is,” Cisco said.

“That’s right. I am. I’ve known her for eighteen years, Cisco. Eighteen. That’s eighteen years of knowing what will piss her off more than anything in the world. What will frustrate her more. What will bring her to tears because of that frustration. And true I may not know her in biblical sense, but where I do know her is from the inside out. If you’d look past the fact that she’s the hottest girl in the room--no offense, Caitlin--then you’d see that. You’d see that just like Barry she has the biggest heart in the world. That all she’s ever wanted to do is help people. Protect people.” He sighed. “Why do you think she got so many degrees? Because someone somewhere told her she couldn’t do it.”

He sighed. “She got the pharmaceutical science one because her boyfriend at the time told her she was too stupid to do it. She got the computer software engineering one because our computer teacher told her that she couldn’t do it either.” He shook his head. “All of those degrees that she has are because someone told her she couldn’t do it. And each time she’s proven them all wrong.” He glared at them all. “Do not underestimate Grace Allen because each and every time she will prove you wrong.”

Barry glared at them. “Why would you do that?” He looked at them all. “Why would you hold her back like that?”

Wells opened his mouth to speak and Barry cut him off. “She’s no more important than I am. She has healing properties too. Or did you all forget that? Aren’t you at all a bit curious as to why water heals her? Or why her body picked up the abilities of the Earth’s elements?”

“We are, but Barry--”

“No, Caitlin. She’s the most important person in my life. For twenty-three years I have watched out for her. For almost fifteen years she’s been my best friend. I love her more than my own life and if you all can’t see that, then…” he sighed. “I won’t do this without her.”

Caitlin gasped. “Barry, come on. She’s just---”

“Just what, Caitlin? Just my sister?” Barry asked. “Damn straight she’s just my sister. My sister. We’ve stuck by each other for fifteen years because all we’ve had is each other. Sure Joe, Iris and Carter were there, but they could never truly know what we were going through then. We’ve been by each other’s side through everything from that moment on. And I won’t do this, I won’t protect this City without her.” He pushed away from the table. “So you three decide how important all of this is. You know where to find me when you do.” He looked at Carter. “Come on.”

They got outside the Lab and Barry turned to him. “I have no idea where she’d go angry. Do you?”

He thought about it for a moment and nodded. “I think so. Do you want to come?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Now there’s two places she’d go. When she’s angry she usually would go to the park, to the hiking trails.” He smiled when Barry did. “In her defense, we were kids, we weren’t supposed to go far.” He sighed. “If she’s angry and hurt like she is right now she’d go talk to your mom.”

“Mom?”

He nodded. “You didn’t know she did that?”

He shook his head. “No. I thought she always went to you.”

“Oh, she did, but after she talked to your mom.”

Guess there were things he needed to learn about his sister too.

* * *

Grace walked to her mother’s grave and sat on her legs in front of it. She placed a bouquet of all types of flowers at her grave and began brushing it clean. “Hi, mommy.” She let out a shaky sigh. “I know, I don’t come as much as I used to but…” she wiped the tears that slid down her cheeks. “I really wish you were here right now. I could really use your words of wisdom.”

She slid down on her butt and pulled her legs to her chest and sobbed. “I’ve always tried to keep one piece of advice in mind-- ‘ _Never let them underestimate you. Always show them behind the blue eyes and beautiful smile is a mind that is just as bright_ ’. Well, mommy, I have tried to do that, but sometimes it’s so hard.”

She sobbed for a few minutes and then swallowed. “You never told me that it would hurt so much. I have powers like I told you. I thought once I got a handle on my abilities I could help the city in some way, but I just discovered today that for the first time in twenty-three years I’m not important. Sure, I’m important to you, daddy, Barry, Joe, Iris and Carter. But I’m not important to people I thought were my friends….” her words trailed off as the emotions overtook her and she just cried.

“I thought they were trying to help me, mommy, but all they were doing was pacifying me. Showing me enough of my powers to make me think I had a handle on them. But I found out today that I may actually have bigger potential with my powers than I ever thought.” She sighed and wiped her tears. “But now I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to get my powers to their peak power potential.”

Barry slowed when he saw her sitting in her defensive crying position at their mom’s grave. She was sobbing as she talked to her. Her words barely audible over her tears. He carefully approached his sister. “Gracie.”

She turned and sat up straighter, wiping her tears. “Barry…”

He sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms and she cried even harder. He rocked with her as she cried. “I won’t do it without you, Gracie.”

“No, Barry, the City needs you.” She wiped her tears and looked at her brother. “I was just the kid sister tagging along.”

“No you weren’t,” Barry told her. “You’re my partner. Having you beside me gives me a strength that not even the particle accelerator could give me.” He pushed her hair out of her face. “You need to stop hiding that big beautiful mind of yours, Kiddo. We all love you because of it. Don’t hide it because you’re afraid of what others will think.” He kissed her forehead.

“Barry’s right,” Carter said gently approaching the siblings. “And quite honestly if Cisco can’t love every part of you--that includes your mind too--then he’s not worth it.” He smiled at her. “This City needs the both of you. Don’t let three people who spend most of their time in a lab tell you differently. I think your abilities and your brother’s speed work well together, because what he can’t do, you can--”

“But how do I know that?” she asked. “They were just basically pacifying me, making me believe that I had a handle on them when in actuality I don’t.”

“Then figure it out,” Carter told her. “Figure it out on your own and just like with school and that big beautiful mind of yours--prove them all wrong. Prove them all wrong by becoming knowledgeable of your abilities and more powerful because of it.”

Barry smiled and tucked her head under his chin as he held her. “Carter’s right. Besides, if they don’t come back with the answer that I want to hear I can help you figure it out too.”

She lifted her head and he smiled. “I told you, Kiddo, we do it together or not at all. And if they’re going to single me out then…”

She smiled and hugged him. She sighed. “I have an idea, but it’s mainly me taking point.”

“Take it,” he told her. “What’s your idea?”

“Let me fight him.”

Barry looked into her eyes. “Do you think you could?”

She nodded. “I’ve been taking kickboxing twice a week to learn self-defense for myself. I think if I combine my kickboxing with my abilities then I think I could at least weaken him in case you can’t reach mach 1.”

He nodded. “Okay.” He kissed her forehead. “Sounds like a plan.” He wiped away her tears and kissed her nose. “Come on. Let’s go to Jitters and see if Iris has any brownies we could steal.”

She laughed and stood. They walked to Carter’s car. She laughed. “With your abilities I’m surprised you still drive?”

He laughed. “I love driving. Besides, this car is only a year old.” He held out the keys to her. “Wanna drive?”

She smiled. “Absolutely.” She took his keys and kissed his cheek.

* * *

Barry and Grace walked into the precinct. They talked to Joe and as Eddie took Barry upstairs to blow off some steam punching the bag, Grace tapped her dad’s arm. “Can I talk to you?”

He nodded. “Absolutely.” He looked into her eyes as they stopped. “You okay?”

“Emotionally exhausted,” she admitted. “I had a rough day.” She sighed. She leaned into him and kept her voice down. “I just found out today that Wells, Caitlin and Cisco were basically pacifying me when it comes to my powers.”

“What?!” he exclaimed. “Why?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Cisco says he was trying to keep me safe, but it’s like they think Barry’s the more important one out of the two of us.” She sighed. “That’s not the part that frightens me, dad.”

“Okay, what does then?”

“They’re encouraging him to go at a speed he hasn’t reached to be able to take Tony down.” She sighed. “You should have seen the look in Wells’ and Cisco’s eyes. It was like they were getting off on this.”

“They’re scientists, Gracie.”

“So am I, but I could never encourage someone to go at a speed that if it didn’t work could shatter his entire body, dad.”

He nodded. “Do you think you could do it? With your powers, do you think you could take him on?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I know the metal that he’s using for his armor and there’s one major weakness with it.”

He smiled. “What is it?”

“Rusting. If he gets wet while in his metal form he could rust which will make it easier to take him down because he’ll be brittle.”

He laughed to himself. “I love you, Sweetheart.”

She hugged him tight. “I love you.” She sighed. “Where are you going?”

“To meet Doctor Wells.”

She nodded. “Keep an eye on him. He’s now made me suspicious of him and not just because of them not actually helping me.” She sighed. “I think he encouraged Cisco and Caitlin to pacify me. I just feel it in my bones…there’s something going on with him.”

He nodded. “I promise. Be careful.”

“I will,” she vowed.

* * *

Grace came up on the West house and froze when she saw the turned over cop car. She rushed up the stairs and ran into the house. “IRIS!” She looked around the house. “IRIS!”

She pulled her hand through her hair. She sighed. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed her brother. “Barry, he’s got Iris.”

“I know. I’ve got my suit with me. Get yours on and once we find out where he’s at, you’re up, Kiddo.”

“Okay.” She hung up the phone and went to the back door. She shot into the air and flew to the Lab.

* * *

Grace landed in the building and rushed to the room that held her suit. She pulled it from the mannequin. Cisco saw her. “Grace.”

“Not now, Cisco. I have to save my sister.” She looked at both of them. She looked at Cisco and Caitlin and then spun around quickly. When she stopped she was in her suit.

“Cool trick.”

She sighed. “After I get Iris safe we’re gonna talk.” She sighed again. “Until then, stay out of my head.” She tapped her comm. “Carter.” She waited. “Carter, if you can hear me. I need you.”

“I’m here, Angel. What’s up?”

“I need your help with finding our sister.”

“Okay. Is that why all those cops are at your house?”

“Yeah. Tony took her.”

“Okay. Give me a few seconds.’

“Try to hurry.”

Moments later, Barry cut in. “Gracie.”

“I’m here,” she said. “Where is she?”

“Carmichael Elementary.”

“Should have known.” She pushed herself forward, propelling herself at top speed.

* * *

“Tony, turn yourself in before things get worse,” she said stumbling to keep up as he jerked on her. “It's not too late.”

“Yeah, it is. Cops are already looking for me, so get ready to cover the showdown of a lifetime 'cause I'm not going out without a fight.”

“That’s the best news I heard all day, Metal Mouth.”

He turned with Iris and looked at the girl in the costume. “Cute Costume.”

She smiled. “Thanks.” She waved him to come for her. “Come on, Big Guy. You want to prove to this town you’re the big man on campus. Then take me on.”

He tossed Iris to the floor. He came at Grace and pulled his fist back and came toward her face. She caught his hand with hers. However, instead of crushing it she made her hand warm up. He started screaming and pulled his hand out. “What the hell?”

“All metals have a heating point before they start to melt.” She smirked. “Lucky for you I can make myself into a giant fireball.”

He ran toward her again and Iris yelled out to her. “LOOK OUT!”

Grace jumped up and flipped in the air and landed behind him. “Come on! Where’s the challenge? I thought with all your talk you’d at least make it difficult for me.”

Carter chuckled in her ear. “Don’t get too cocky, Gaia.”

The more she fought him, the angrier she got which helped her powers it would seem. At that point Tony made himself metalized and that’s when Barry showed up. She looked at her brother. “You take him for awhile.”

In Barry’s ear he heard Carter say, “She’s letting you fight your bully, Barry. You can do this.”

Her and Iris watched as the Streak took on Tin Man. However, when he started getting the best of Barry, Grace jumped back in. She waited for the moment where he went all metal and out of anger lit her entire body into a massive ball of fire. The sprinklers began spraying. She flew at the lockers and used her feet to push off and she punched him with her own version of a power punch, sending him on his ass.

She landed. “You really think being the big ass man on campus was going to get you real far, huh? The sad thing about guys like you is you always hang your hopes and dreams on one moment in life and think it’ll get you somewhere.” She lit herself on fire again and this time went through him while still being on fire. She landed in front of Iris, in a kneeling position and turned to see him going back together. She looked at Barry. “Do it.”

He nodded and took off out the doors. He scoffed and Grace looked at Tony as he said, “There goes your hero.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t count him out yet, Big Guy.” She smirked. She looked at Iris and smiled. “Trust me.”

She nodded.

Grace said into her comm. “Make sure he can hear me.”

Carter configured things and said, “Talk to him.”

“Okay, Listen to me. You can do this. I believe in you. I always have. Just believe in yourself and you know you can do it.” She walked over to Iris and said, “When I tell you to, run, okay?”

She nodded. “What’s he gonna do?’

“Just watch and find out.”

They watched the doors as they heard the loud roar of the speed that he was picking up. They watched as he burst through the doors and came at him at superspeed. He punched him in the face, sending him on the floor, sliding toward Iris. Grace pulled her to her feet and moved her out of the way. Grace sighed. “He did it.”

She walked to her brother just as they both heard skin on skin contact and turned to see Iris waving her hand in pain and Tony out cold. Grace chuckled. “Nice.”

“Mmm,” she hummed.

“Nice cross.”

“I think I broke my hand.”

The Streak groaned. “Me too.”

* * *

Tony came to in one of the containment cells. “Hey! What is this? Where the hell am I?”

“Somewhere you'll never hurt anyone ever again,” Barry told him while he stood in the shadows.

“Who the hell do you think you are?”

“You know who I am.” He stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself. Grace was beside him.

“Allen? Grace?”

“The thing that happened to you, Tony, it happened to us too, but it didn't just give us abilities. It made us more of who we are. You got strong. I got fast. Fast enough to beat you. You used your gift to hurt people. Not anymore.”

They turned and walked out, ignoring his yells for them to get him out of there. They congratulated them on catching Tony. Caitlin sighed. “Grace.

She turned and looked at her. “What?”

“I’m sorry.”

“We both are.”

She exhaled and looked at both of them. She turned to Caitlin. “Look, I don’t want your job. I never have. Bioengineering isn’t in my study. The brain, the computer software and basically drugs are in my wheelhouse. Besides what I’m currently doing.” She pushed a hand through her hair. “I would never purposely do your job for you.” She sighed. “Just tell me one thing and be honest.”

She nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Am I okay? Like physically? My powers aren’t doing anything to me are they?”

She shook her head. “No. I would have told you the truth.”

She nodded. “Okay. Then we’re cool.” She turned to Cisco. “As for you…I trusted you, Cisco. I thought you wanted to help me. I told you why I wanted to learn to use them and you lied to me.”

“I didn’t.”

“But you did.” She sighed. “You told me you’d help me and all you did was enough to pacify me.” She put her hands on his shoulders. “And if you knew anything about women at all that is one thing we hate. Being pacified.” She exhaled. “I don’t totally blame either of you, but I thought we were friends and as such I gave you a level of my trust I don’t give everyone.” She looked at them both. “You’ll have to earn it back.”

“What about you and I?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Right now I don’t know.” She sighed. “You need to let your walls down a little bit, at least let me peek in. If you can do that then I promise we will be on track to getting where we were.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

She smiled and took his face in her hands and kissed his lips. “I’ve gotta go. Promised Joe I’d go Thanksgiving shopping.”

“Ooh!” Barry said. “Remember, we need a lot of food.”

“I remember, Big Brother. Which is why I’m making six pies this year and not just three.” She called over her shoulder. “Bye. Love you.”

“Love you,” Barry and Cisco said to her.

“Bye, Grace.

* * *

Grace left Iris a message through her blog and asked her to meet her on the roof of Jitters. Grace landed on the roof. “I was hoping you’d get my message.”

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

“I wanted to check in with you. See how you’re doing.”

She smiled. “Thank you. I’m good. My hand’s not broken like I had thought.”

She laughed. “Well, that’s good news.”

“What you did was amazing by the way.”

She smiled. “Thank you. I will admit I had a rough day today and so being able to help you…someone so willing to believe in my brother and I--”

“Your brother?” she asked. “He’s your brother?”

She nodded. “Older brother.” She smiled. “He hates when I remind people of that.”

Iris laughed. “May I ask you some questions?”

She smiled. “Tell you what, since I helped you today and by the evidence of your cross you didn’t need it really, I’ll let you have two questions.”

She smiled. “Well, I don’t want you to feel obligated to answer something you’re not ready for.”

“Trust me, if I’m not ready to answer I won’t.” She nodded to her. “Go ahead.”

“What’s your name?”

She smiled. “That one’s easy. My friends call me Gaia.”

She smiled. “Gaia. Like the Goddess of the Earth.”

She nodded. “Right. By the way, it’s spelled G-A-I-A. In case you want to print it.”

Iris laughed. “Thank you.” Her smile stayed in place. “Well, hopefully you let me continue to ask you questions at some point, so I’ll ask you, what do you think of me calling your brother, Flash in my blog?”

She smiled. “I like it. I like it a lot.” She jumped into the air and hovered. “Just do me a favor, don’t try to get in trouble again, okay?” She smiled. “I usually like to keep my friends around.”

She laughed. “I will definitely try. I promise.”

Iris went downstairs after Gaia left and started writing her blog post:

_Today, I was saved by the impossible. A mystery man and his sister. The fastest man alive and the flying lady. They both can do amazing things. Then a friend gave me an idea for a new name, and the Flying Lady herself informed me of her name and something tells me their both gonna catch on._

_So, Central City Citizens if you see him racing through our streets or her flying through our skies remember their names: The Flash and Gaia and thank them, because they’re our very own Guardian Angels._

_Gaia and Flash, if you read this I’d like to say thank you. Thank you for risking your lives every day so that we can sleep a little easier and feel a little safer._

She went to the title of the blog post and changed it: ****Saved By Central City’s Dynamic Duo.****


	11. Power Outage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When a power draining meta takes Barry's speed it's up to Grace to save Central City's finest and Iris from the Clock King. 
> 
> Plus, a brief look into Grace's future

Grace and Carter stepped out of Carter’s car and started heading for the stairs when they heard the chaos going on inside. They looked at each other and ran inside. She burst through the door and yelled out to Joe as Carter came up behind her. They watched as the man in yellow swirled around the room with red and yellow lightning following after him. “Dad!”

“Stay there, Gracie!”

She watched the man in yellow swirl around the room and pulled her hair out of her face as she watched him. Without thinking about what the mysterious man in yellow would do to her she shot her arm out and a beam of air shotout to the man. The man stopped and the lights came. Everything Joe had on Nora’s case was gone. Grace pulled her hand through her to straighten it. She sighed. “Oh, my God…”

Carter looked around the room and his heart stopped beating when he saw it. “Joe…”

Joe looked up as Grace turned around. She yelped when she saw it. A picture of Iris with a knife in her face with the warning to Stop or Else. “Oh, dad…”

He walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. He kissed her hair as he held on.

* * *

Dr. Wells wheeled to a portion of the wall inside STAR Labs and pressed his hand to the wall. The wall opened and he wheeled inside. Once the wall enclosed him inside a secret room, he stood from the chair and pressed his hand to a podium and it brought up an artificial intelligence model.

“Good day, Dr. Wells.”

“One can always hope, Gideon,” Wells said to the face. “Bring up my log, would you?”

“Certainly. Go ahead, doctor.”

“New entry. It has now been 311 days since lightning struck. Subject has begun relying on his speed in everyday life, using his extraordinary powers to solve ordinary problems...and accomplish ordinary tasks. Unfortunately, his penchant for the heroic persists. The fact is...he can be a bit of a showoff. And while his desire to help others is commendable, it is impeding him from realizing the full scope of his abilities. But there's still time, as the future remains intact.”

****Flash Missing: Vanishes in Crisis** **

****

* * *

Grace walked into the Cortex and greeted Cisco with a kiss on the cheek. While he hadn’t opened the door to his life, knocked down the wall completely he had allowed her a peek inside and she was finding herself feeling connected to him again like they were when they first started out.She looked around. “Is Barry late again?”

He shook his head. “No, he’s in the office with the Principal.”

She winced “Eee.All right then.” She put her chin on his shoulder. “So did you talk to your mom?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I did. And I think I have a solution if you’re okay with it Mom’s not going to be cool with me missing out on dinner, so I propose…dinner with the fam and dessert with you at the West house.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek. “Works for me.” She kissed his cheek again. “I got to get to work. See you later.” She tilted her mouth to his ear. “Love you.”

He smiled. “Love you too.”

* * *

Later that day, she walked into the Cortex again and saw the crispy corpse on the computer screen. “Eww. What in the hell did that?”

Barry smiled. “Hey, Kiddo. We’re not exactly sure. How’s your day been?”

She shrugged. “Fine as it can be when work with an arrogant prick who believes he knows to do not only his job but yours too.”

“You mean that Mason guy?”

“Yeah,” she said and plastered her fake, ‘I’m tolerating you, because killing you would only create a bigger problem’ smile. “Working with a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist is so much fun.”

They chuckled. She pointed at the screen. “So who is Mr. Fried too Crispy?”

“Guys, according to the software, there's an 82% chance your victim looked like this.”

“82%?”

“Hey, it was zero when you walked in here, pal.”

“Can you cross-reference that with the DMV database, maybe get a name?”

“Absolutely. This software can do just about anything now that Felicity reprogrammed it.” He looked up at Grace.”Sorry, Babe.”

“Don’t be. I refuse to get worked up at the fact that neither of you seem to remember that I have a degree building software programs.”

Cisco winced. “Right. Casey Donahue. No wife. No kids. Used to work at the Petersburg electrical substation.”

“That can't be a coincidence.”

“No,” Grace said.

“That's weird. Someone just used his ID To enter the substation. The Petersburg grid is experiencing a power drain right now.”

“Barry, be...careful.”

Grace quickly changed and took after her brother. By the time she got to the station, she saw her brother being zapped. She walked and found a stick and knocked the guy in the head with it. She flipped over him, then kicked him in the torso. She grabbed her brother around the underarms and shot into the air.

She got to the lab and flew into the Cortex. “A little help…he’s a little heavier than I anticipated.”

Cisco rushed to them and took Barry from her. “What happened?”

“He was sucking his strength. I think he was taking his speed.”

Caitlin looked at her. “How’d you get him to break the current?”

She smirked. “T-ball practice.”

Cisco laughed.”You hit him with something.”

She nodded. “Yep.Then I kicked him to make sure he stayed down until I could get us both away.”

Wells smiled. “Good job, Ms. Allen.”

She curtesied. “Thank you, Kind Sir.” She turned to her brother. “How you feeling, BB?”

“BB?” Caitlin asked with a smile.

“It’s Big Brother broken down to initials,” he explained. “She’s always called me that or B, which is short for my name.” He looked at Grace. “I feel like I’ve been cut off.”

She nodded. “As I concluded. Your speed’s gone.”

Wells nodded. “She’s right. And we were wrong. This metahuman doesn't electrocute people; he siphons electricity, thereby removing your power.”

“All right, do we think this is temporary or…”

“...we have to run tests.”

“Yeah. I've got to warn Joe.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“Barry, we will find a way to restore your speed. I promise you that.”

* * *

Barry and Grace got to the precinct and Joe what had happened. To test it, Joe tossed Barry’s favorite mug into the air hoping he’d catch it before it hit the ground, but no such luck. It hit the floor and shattered.

“Dad!”

“I loved that mug!”

“You didn’t catch it.”

“And what part of “a metahuman stole my speed” didn't you understand?”

“Barry, there's no part of anything you can do that I ever understand. What does Dr. Wells say?”

“He's working on it.”

“Barry, you have to get your speed back. People in this city need protecting and Grace can’t do it all. If you don't get your speed, how the hell are we gonna keep them safe?”

“Joe, the meta who stole my speed, he burned up the body we saw in the alley today. You need to tell the police not to confront him. He's dangerous.” “Who's dangerous?”

“No one, just some thief.”

Iris put her hands on Barry’s shoulders. “Well, criminals better watch out. Cops in Central City are the best there are, and if you can't protect this city, dad, I know The Flash and Gaia will.”

“What if he can't? What if he's gone?”

“Gone?”

“Yeah, or maybe he's just done, or maybe it's like whatever he could do before, he can't do anymore.”

“Huh?”

“Barry? Don't you have someplace to be?” Joe whispered.

“Yeah, Going,” he muttered.

Grace smiled at Iris. “Don’t mind him he’s had a rough day.”

“Aw, Barry loved that mug.”

“Maybe we can find another one for Christmas,” she told Iris. She looked at her watch. “I gotta go. I’m using dad’s kitchen to make the pies for Thanksgiving.” She kissed Joe’s cheek.

“Could you make the stuffing, your mom’s green bean casserole and the gravy.”

She smiled at him. “Yes, I will.”

He smiled. “You’re the best, Sweetheart.”

She walked to Iris and squeezed Iris’ fingers as she walked off. “Carter’s helping me…whether he knows it or not.”

They laughed.

“Talk later. Love you.”

“Love you,” Both Wests said in unison.

* * *

Grace was in the kitchen getting started on the pies when she heard the front door open and then close. “Gracie?”

“In the kitchen, Ceej!”

Carter walked into the kitchen and smiled. “Hard at work I see.”

She smiled. “Yeah. Wanna help?”

“Sure. What do you want me to do?”

“Start snapping the green beans.”

He nodded.”That I can do.” He picked up the bag of fresh green beans and put them in a strainer. He rinsed them off and grabbed a towel and bowl. He began snapping the ends off. “How’s it going with Cisco?”

She looked at him as she worked the pie crust into the tin. “Okay. We’re not back to where we were before everything happened, but we’re getting there.”

He nodded.”Good. I’m happy to hear it.”

She smiled. She exhaled and heard her cell phone ringing. She walked to the back counter and answered, “Hey, BB. What’s up?”

“We need to split up. The Clock King is in town from Starling. Not exactly sure why, but…he’s taken hostages. I have the power drainer guy. Gaia needs to take The Clock King.”

She nodded and looked at Carter. “Okay. Don’t worry. I got the best eyes in the world looking after me, BB.” She winked at Carter. “Who are the hostages?”

“Some cops, Iris and Joe.”

Her heart hit the floor. “I’m there.”

“Stay focused, Kiddo. This one’s all yours.”

She nodded. “Promise. Be careful and if you have to see if it works in refuse.”

“What do you mean?”

“When he fires at you see if you can use the voltage he throws at you to recharge you.”

“Oh, good idea.”

She smiled. “I have them sometimes. Okay. Be careful.”

“You too.”

She hung up the phone and quickly spun in a circle. She smiled when she stopped, stroke a pose. “Here’s the deal.” She grabbed her laptop. “I need you to hack the camera feed at the precinct and tell me what you see. You’re my eyes, CJ.”

“What’s going on?”

“Hostage situation. The Clock King--a prison transfer from Starling has taken hostages. Iris and Joe are there too.”

He nodded. “Say no more.” He booted up her computer and started using his abilities to hack the precinct’s cameras. “All right. I’m in. Go.”

* * *

Gaia got to the scene and saw all the cops and SWAT teams outside. Carter was in her ear as he said, “There’s eight cops, a couple of secretaries and Iris, Angel.”

“Okay.”

“Captain!” one of the officers yelled.”It’s Gaia.”

“And you’ve been discovered. Oh, shit!”

“What?”

“Eddie’s been shot.”

“Okay, I’m going in.” She found one of the windows that she could easily sneak into and pressed her hand to the window and carefully pulled.The window came undone fully in tact. She slipped into the room and she looked at Joe and Iris and put her finger to her mouth in a ‘don’t say anything’ gesture.

She took the scene into account and then stood. “You know before you start taking hostages you might want to make sure that this town doesn’t have people protecting it first.”

“Who are you?”

“She’s Gaia. She’s half of our city’s crime fighting team.”

Gaia looked at Eddie. “How are you doing, Detective Thawne?”

“I’ve been better.”

She glanced at the clock on the wall and just as she had, he shot the gun. She spun and held her hands out, halting the bullet instantly, this time she redirected it and it went into his leg. The man screamed out in pain. “Are you trying to piss me off, Dude? Because shooting at me will do that!”

He pointed the gun at her again and shot. This time she came at him and did a disarming tactic and then put him on his back so fast that that he didn’t even have time to react. He groaned. She took the gun and melted it in her other hand. She tossed it across the floor to Joe.

Tockman punched her and kicked her, attempting to sending her back so he could take control again. Instead she hovered and groaned. She looked at Joe and he nodded. She propelled herself forward, grabbed his shirt and slammed him into the floor… ** _ **hard**_** , knocking the wind from him.

Joe winced and Iris flinched. “Damn,” she muttered. “Girl power.”

Gaia smirked a Iris. “Always.” She looked at Joe. “Detective.”

He stood and walked to her. She signaled for him to turn. He put his back to her. She took his restraints and pulled his hands free. “Call off the guards and tell your Captain that the prisoner is ready for transport again.”

He nodded. She looked at Iris. “Come here, Iris.”

She stood and walked to her. She pulled her free too. “Go check on, Detective Thawne.”

Captain Singh came up moments later and signaled to 2 officers to take Tockman. He looked at Gaia, once the officers had him. “Thank you.”

She nodded. “Absolutely. We’re always willing to help Central City’s finest.”

* * *

Grace rushed into STAR Labs and looked around. “Oh, geez…”

Caitlin turned and smiled. “We’re all okay.”

She nodded. “Good.” She saw Barry and rushed to him.

He caught her and hugged her tightly. “Hey, I’m okay.”

“Good.” She looked at Barry. “I can stop bullets.”

“What?”

“Tockman got a gun from one of the officers and he shot at me. I raised my hand hoping that my ability to control air would help and it did.”

He nodded. “Good to know.” He hugged her. “Everyone’s okay though?”

She nodded. “Yeah, Eddie’s on his way to the hospital. So by the time we get there he should flying pretty high.”

He laughed. “Okay. Come on.”

* * *

They walked into Eddie’s hospital room and Grace smiled at the man in the bed. “Hey, Allen, Gracie.” He smiled. “Flowers. That's so nice.” He giggled.

Grace smiled. “Hey, Eddie.” She hugged her sister. “Sorry we took so long. Carter had some projects we tried to save by plugging them into generators.”

“Did you lose any?”

“Won’t know until tomorrow.”

Iris hugged Barry. “Where were you all night?”

“Home, trying to eat all the ice cream before it melted.”

“I love ice cream.” He laughed.

Grace smiled. “I think we all do, Sweetheart.”

“He is on pain meds, lots of them, but he's gonna be okay. It's been some night. I am gonna get some coffee. I'll be back.”

Barry turned to leave and Joe decided to test him and knocked the flowers off the table. “Dude.”

“Awesome,” Joe whispered. “I guess you're feeling better.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Did you guys see that?”

“Seen what?” Grace asked.

“You're just high, partner.”

“Right, I forgot.” He laughed.

She laughed softly and kissed his forehead. “Get some sleep, Eddie.”

“You know Iris thinks of you as her sister.”

She laughed. “That’s good, so do I.”

“No, I mean. She really does. When she told me about you guys she said “my sister Grace” and “my best friend, Barry”.” He smiled up at her. “I thought it was weird that you and Barry had the same last name until she explained it to me.”

She smiled. “Yeah. People get confused by that.” She took squeezed his hand. “But I always tell people when they ask about siblings that I have a brother and a sister.” She looked at Joe. “And two dads.”

Barry came back in and Iris came strolling in without her coffee. “Uh…Iris?”

“Honey, you all right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You forgot your coffee.”

“Oh, uh…” she smiled.

Barry smiled, knowing it was because of him.

* * *

Wells touched the podium again and the computer came to life. “Good day, Dr. Wells.”

“Yes, it is, Gideon. Bring up my log, please, new entry. It has now been 312 days since lightning struck. In the past 24 hours, subject has taken a great leap forward, causing me to revise my initial thesis. I thought...well, I thought his attachment to people was a distraction slowing down his progress. Now I realize the opposite is true. Barry's attachment to people, the people he cares about, is actually the key to getting him up to speed. In the meantime, good news.” He brought up the future newspaper. “The future remains intact.” He sighed. “Pull up all records on Grace Allen.”

“There are one-thousand, nine-hundred and seventy-two references.”

“Pull up her wedding announcement.”

****Dr.Carter Stephens marries childhood sweetheart, Grace Allen!** **

_The bride looked beautiful. She wore a vintage Paige Kincaid gown that was quoted as having been worn by her mother…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize that this one is so short. However, after this chapter I'll be going back to my usual chapter length.


	12. A West Family Thanksgiving (2014)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The West-Allen Family Thanksgiving...
> 
> Cisco comes for pie...and he and Grace kiss and make up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title of Song: Take Care  
> Song and Lyrics Originally by Chlara

Grace stood in the bathroom and fixed a couple of her curls when her phone rang. She walked into her bedroom and swiped up the phone. She smiled when she seen it was Cisco. “Hey, Sweetheart. What’s up?”

“Hey, Baby. Don’t be mad, but uh…my mom’s in one of her moods and I don’t think it’s a good idea to--”

“One of her moods?”

He sighed. Remembering what she said about opening up, he answered, “Uh…my-my-my parents treat my brother and I differently. My brother is the Prince of the family--he can’t do anything wrong. While I seem to be the family failure and…”

“Sweetheart, your not a failure.” She sighed. That explained why he was the way he was then. Why he closed himself off. However, she had a feeling he was trying to keep her from finding out just how far they go with the treatment. However, she wouldn’t push herself into a family event. “Okay, Sweetie. You still coming to have dessert with us?”

“Absolutely. I gotta try your pumpkin pies.”

She laughed. “Okay. See you in a little while. I love you.”

“I love you.”

She hung up, exhaling. She tossed her phone on the bed and finished getting ready. She walked downstairs from her old room wearing the knee-high length plaid skirt and black long-sleeve sweatshirt she had picked out yesterday at the store to wear today.

“Gracie! When’s the rolls supposed to come out?” Iris asked.

“Um…check them. They actually should be coming out in three minutes but the oven’s been on for a few hours.”

“Okay. Dad, Gracie says the rolls can come out now.”

There was a knock on the door and she turned and opened it. She smiled when she seen Carter, dressed in a nice red sweater and black dress pants. “You look nice.”

“Thank you. Do you think you could steal away for about a half an hour?” He smiled. “I did something kind of crazily spontaneous and I want to show it to you.”

She nodded. “Um…let me go run it by dad.” She walked into the kitchen. “Hey, dad. Carter’s here. He did something spontaneous and he wants to show me. Can you hold down the fort for about a half an hour to forty-five minutes?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Are the times you wrote on here approximate?”

She looked at the notebook he held up. She nodded. “It is.”

He nodded. “Okay. Then we’ll see you in a little while.”

She smiled and kissed his cheek. “You’re the best! Love you!”

“Love you,” he called after her.

* * *

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/159126548@N03/50725068263/in/dateposted-public/) [](https://www.flickr.com/photos/159126548@N03/50725889117/in/dateposted-public/)

**(Above are photos of the loft that Carter is showing Grace)**

He pulled up to the curb of a beautiful tall historic white building. Grace got out of the car and looked up at the building. It looked like a typical old warehouse building that was turned into residences and now had fire escapes on the outside. “Wow…” she looked at him. “Did you buy this?”

He shook his head. “No. It’s an apartment building.” He took her hand and walked with her to the entrance of the building. He pulled the door open and let her go inside first. He tapped the call button for the elevator and let her go in first when the doors opened. “Will you please hit the eighth floor, please?”

She leaned over and tapped the button he asked. “So, what is this?”

“My new place,” he told her.

“You’re what?”

“My new place.” He smiled. “I bought a 2-story loft.”

Her eyes widened, which made her look adorable he thought. “You bought a loft?”

He nodded. “I have no idea why I did, because I won’t be able to live in it for another year, except for when I come home.”

She nodded. “O…kay,” she said slowly. It wasn’t like Carter to make such an extravagant purchase. Usually he was a little more practical when it came to his money.

He looked at her. “You okay?”

She nodded. “It’s just not like you to be this spontaneously extravagant, so I’m surprised.”

“I know. I know it was crazy, but do you remember when we were growing up and we said when it came to our homes we’d…just know?”

She nodded as the doors opened and she walked out of the car. He followed. “I take it you got a feeling?”

He nodded. “I think it’s perfect! And you know I’m not into residences--not like you anyway.”

She laughed softly. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Now, I want you to be honest. If you don’t like it then tell me what you don’t like, okay?”

She nodded. “I promise I will be totally honest.” She walked across the threshold and her heart skittered when she saw the exposed beams, hardwood floors and exposed brick wall. _It looked amazing!_ And the place was set up perfectly. Her hand went to her chest and she sighed as she walked further into the loft. She walked into the middle of the open-concept living area. There was the kitchen, the dining area, a sitting area, a TV area. “Oh, Carter…” she sighed. “This is **_**amazing**_**.”

“You like it?”

She nodded. “I love it,” she whispered, totally in awe. She turned to him and smiled. “It is so you.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “Absolutely.” She loved the loft a lot. She loved the layout and how it was decorated. She could picture herself living in something like this. “Show me the upstairs.”

He laughed and took her hand and they climbed the stairs. “Do you get to keep the furniture? Because I gotta admit it’s perfect, except these jerseys up here on the wall.”

He laughed. “Trust me. The jerseys are coming down. I was going to put some paintings up that I bought for whenever I found a place.”

She got to the landing at the top of the stairs and smiled. “I like it.”

“Good. To the right is the master bedroom, or what will be the Master when the renovations of this room and that one are finished.” He pointed to the left. “There’s the guest bedroom and then straight ahead is the bathroom.”

“Ooh,” she said and jogged forward as much as her heels would let her. “I gotta see this.”

She walked into the room to see the sunken tub, the glass enclosed shower and the beautiful room in general. “Oh, wow….” She smiled at Carter. “I may come over and use your bathtub. That thing is perfect for long soaks, Man, seriously.”

He laughed. “Well, since you kinda brought it up. I was going to ask you. Since I’m going to be out of the country for a little while longer, would you mind overseeing the renovation of the master bedroom for me?”

“Sure,” she said. She smiled. “I’d totally do it.” She looked up at him. “You still gonna come for dinner?”

He nodded. “Is Cisco coming?”

She shook her head. “No. He’s coming for dessert, but not dinner.” She sighed. “He called this morning and said that it would be better since his parents are the way they are that I not meet them yet?”

“How are they?”

She sighed. “Apparently his older brother is the Prince of the family and they praise everything that Dante does while Cisco’s accomplishments go unnoticed.”

Carter nodded. “Well, that explains why he’s closed off then. He’s probably trained himself to not react because of their treatment of both him and his brother.”

She nodded. “That’s what I figured too, which is why it’s been a little easier to make this work.”

Carter smiled, but behind the smile his heart was breaking a little more. Why couldn’t she that exactly what she was looking for was right in front of her?

* * *

Seated at the dinner table, the sides were displayed beautifully as Joe walked in carrying the turkey. The kids clapped at the perfection. Barry smiled. “It looks perfect, Kiddo.”

She smiled. “Thanks, but dad helped. I went with Carter somewhere.”

Carter smiled. “I bought an apartment,” he informed everyone.

Iris smiled. “Does that mean you’ll be coming home?”

He nodded. “Soon. I’m hoping by either this time next year or around Christmas of next year I should be home permanently. There’s some papers that I need Grace to sign before I leave. Just so that the businesses I’m pitching our security program and the others we’ve built to can see that she agrees to the terms.”

“Are you trying to contract all of our projects?”

He nodded. “That was the plan when we were in high school. I’m just implementing are original plan, Gracie.”

She nodded. “Okay. Just let me know when you want me to sign.”

“Who’s ready to eat?” Joe asked with a smile. “This turkey smells too damn good to wait.”

The clattering chaos that always followed filled the room. Once everyone had their food. Carter stood. “Wait. I bought something in France for this occasion.”

“France?” Iris and Grace asked in unison.

“Yeah,” he said walking into the kitchen. He came out with a green bottle of champagne. “This vineyard there is trying schmooze me into developing some stuff and a program for them. So they sent me a complimentary bottle of their best champagne. And I thought it would be perfect for tonight.”

“Well, pour it up, Carter,” Joe said. He was always up for a glass.

He popped the cork and began pouring. “Don’t drink yet. I have a toast first.”

He poured a glass all around and they held up their glasses. Carter began his toast, “Here’s to family and friends who will hopefully be family,” his eyes slid to Grace and he continued, “May our pleasures be boundless while we have time to enjoy them. Here's to the blessings of the year, Here's to the friends we hold so dear. I hope you all know how much I appreciate, care and love you. I would do anything for either of you and I hope you all know that I have never taken your love for me for granted. To another great year of hopes beyond our wildest dreams. Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Happy Thanksgiving,” they chorused and sipped.

Both Iris and Grace moaned in appreciation. “Damn,” Iris said. “That’s good!”

He smiled. “I’ll let them know.”

* * *

_KNOCK-KNOCK! KNOCK-KNOCK!_

Grace sat the basket and serving dish back on the table when she heard the knock and answered the door. She smiled as she opened it and it was Cisco. “Hey, Sweetheart!” She kissed him passionately.

“Hi, Baby,” he said with a smile. “Did I miss it?”

“Not at all. Carter and I are finishing up putting the dinner away now and doing the dishes. Dad, Barry, Eddie and Iris are in the living room getting a glass of bourbon ready. We are going to finish up the dishes and then bring the pies out for everyone. So go ahead.”

He nodded and kissed her. “I love you.”

She smiled. “I love you.”

He walked into the living room and Barry looked up. “Hey!”

Cisco smiled. “Hey.” They did the “manly’ one arm hug. He shook Joe’s hand and Eddie’s. “Hey, Iris.”

She smiled. “Hi.”

About 20 minutes later, with music playing, Carter and Grace walked into the room carrying trays of sliced up plated pumpkin pies hearing them laughing. She smiled. “The pie is served!”

“YES!” Iris and Barry said as they dove for a piece. Iris handed one to Eddie. “Babe, you have to try this.”

“It’s pumpkin pie, Iris--”

“Homemade pumpkin pie. Like, from scratch.”

“Who made it?”

Grace smiled at him. “I did. It’s an Allen-West hybrid version.”

“What’s that mean?” Cisco asked as he took a plate from the tray.

“It means that she combined both the Allen family recipe and the West family recipe and figured out the best version of the two,” Barry told him. “Trust me it’s **_**amazing**_**. We’ve had it every years since she was thirteen.”

Both Cisco and Eddie took a forkful and put it into their mouths. They both moaned. Eddie put the back of his hand to his mouth and looked at Grace. “Oh, my God! This is _incredible!_ ”

She laughed. “Thank you.” She shrugged. “I seem to have a gift for cooking and baking.”

They all ate the pie at that point. As they ate and drank, they began talking and Grace slid down onto the arm of Cisco chair and pulled her legs to the side. Iris smiled. “Gracie, sing for us.”

“What?” she asked.

“Sing for us,” Iris said with a smile. “It seems like forever since the last time you sang.”

Carter looked up at her. “I brought my guitar earlier if you want music to go with it, even though we both know you could do acappella.”

She laughed. She tapped his leg. “Go get it, Guitar man.”

He stood and walked over toward the door. He pulled it out of the case and walked back into the living room. He sat and put it across his legs. “What do you wanna sing?”

She smiled at Joe. “Dad, you pick.”

Joe thought about it for a moment and then leaned over and whispered something to Carter. Carter smiled. He pulled her to him and whispered in her ear. She smiled. “Ooh. Good one, dad. It’s been about six years since we sang that one.” She cleared her throat and nodded to Carter.

Carter strummed once and Grace began and he continued strumming:

(Grace)

_Boy it's not about the distance between us_

_I'm gonna miss your face_

_That made me smile when I'm feeling down_

_When it feels like I'm slipping away_

(Carter as he’s now playing the chords to the song)

_Just remember those times we just stayed down in the grass_

_Watching the day turn into night_

(Grace, now tapping her legs in beat to the song)

_You're holding my hand while strolling through the park_

_How I wish we didn't have to be apart_

_All those times we spend together_

_I'll keep it in my heart_

(Carter)

_I'm going away_

_There's not much left to say_

(Grace)

_But I love you_

(Together; Carter)

_And I’ll never forget all those times that you were on my mind_

(Grace)

_I swear I won’t cry_

_Take Care_

(Together)

_I’ll Miss You_

(Grace)

_Remember those times_

_We just get in the car_

_And drive forever_

_This is something to remember_

(Carter)

_Our first kiss after the sunset_

_And I went packing my bags_

_And I'm carrying that moment with me_

(Grace)

_All those times we spend together_

_Promise you'll be back someday_

(Carter)

_I'm going away_

_There's not much left to say_

(Grace)

_But I love you_

(Carter)

_And I'll never forget all those times_

_That you were on my mind_

(Grace)

_I swear I won't cry_

_Take care_

_I'll miss you_

(Carter; Together)

_Oh and I can't stand this_

(Together)

_We're falling in love but you're going away_

_We're so close and yet so far_

_But I know that you'll be back someday_

The chorus to the song continued one last time and then the music faded. The Wests, Barry, Eddie and Cisco clapped. “That was great, guys,” Eddie said with a smile.

Cisco smiled as Grace leaned forward and kissed him. “You sounded good together.”

She smiled. “Thanks, Baby.”

* * *

Cisco and Grace left about a half an hour later, walking hand and hand down the street. He sighed. “So, um, I know you’re dying to ask, so I’ll tell you. Dinner was a disaster. I hope you’re not mad at me for asking you not to show up, but I’m not just not ready to show you that part of it.”

She walked ahead of him a little and stopped him under the street light. “I’m not mad, Cisco. I could never be mad about that. I’m glad you were honest with me about your family dynamic though. It’s helped me understand you little bit better. As much I really want to get to know every facet of you, I can now understand why you need more time to open yourself up and I’m willing to give it to you.”

He smiled and took her face in his hands. He claimed her mouth in a passionate kiss. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck, falling into the kiss. He broke the kiss and looked into her eyes as they fluttered open. “Please tell me you’re coming home and we can…?”

She smiled. “Take me home and find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Apology: I wanted to give you a love scene after they kiss under the street light, but I couldn't make it work. I'm so sorry.


	13. Flash vs Arrow

Carter walked into Jitters and looked around for Barry. He slid into the seat next to him and Barry smiled. “Hey, Bud. So, you’re leaving tomorrow.”

He nodded. “Yeah,” he murmured. “It went too damn fast.”

“Yeah. It happens,” he smirked. “Especially when you spend all that time with my sister.”

He laughed and shrugged. “Sorry.” He turned and smiled at the girl behind the girl behind the counter. “Hey Alicia, can I get a large black coffee in a to-go cup?”

She smiled and nodded. “Absolutely, Carter.”

He turned back to Barry who was just watching him with a smile on his face. “What?”

He shook his head. “Just remembering how you were so awkward before and now either your money has given you confidence or the fact that you’re in love with my sister.”

He laughed. “How do you know that?”

“Please!” he scoffed. “Joe, Iris and I have known since…forever.”

He sighed and thanked Alicia as she brought him his coffee. He looked at his long time friend. “I can’t help it.”

He shook his head. “Man, you’re saying that to the wrong person.” He pointed by the door. “That one’s mine.”

Carter looked over his shoulder, not that he needed to. Everyone knew. He smiled. “Oh, I know.” He exhaled. “I can’t help it.”

Barry nodded.

“But I was too late. Sometimes I regret leaving Central City at all, then maybe we would have….” he sighed. “But I couldn’t just sit around and watch her date guy after guy who takes advantage of how _amazing_ she is.” He sipped his coffee. “But hey, I did my good deed as her best friend. I helped patch them up.”

He nodded. He had too. He talked to both of them. Barry couldn’t figure out how he could have done that considering he loves her, but he did. “And that was awesome.” He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “I was just thinking about this. Everyone on this planet, at some point in their lives, has had a major case of the feels...those days when your heart is just too small to hold the big things you're feeling. Today's one of those days.” He looked across the shop at the love of his life…the girl who would never see him as anything more than her best friend. “We think of our emotions like they're these unique, personal phenomena, that no one has ever felt what we have felt. There is a basis in science for every emotion we feel... Anger, love. As a scientist, I know there's nothing magical about what makes us feel something for someone else... But then I see her smile.” He smiled and looked at Carter. “Man, that cannot be science.”

He nodded. “I’m with you there.” He sighed. “And it all makes sense. However, our emotions can’t be quantified by science. It’s just our hearts telling us whom they want.” He shrugged. “But we both moved too slow.”

His phone beeped and he looked at Carter. “Sorry.”

He shook his head. “Go. Tell Gracie I said to be careful.” He looked at his friend. “That goes for you too.”

Barry smiled and sped off.

******************

He sped off and looked up to see his sister hovering above. She landed on the ground and stood with her brother. “See anyone else?”

She shook her head. “No. There’s no one.” She looked at her brother. “I thought that most bank robbers worked together?” Her eyes lifted. “Oh crap. Flash, look!”

He turned and seen the immense rage in all of them. They were fighting each other and everything. He took her hand when he seen the blond grab the gun and point it at the other guy. “Protect him,” he said and pushed her forward.

She wrapped her arm around his waist and pulled the man down with her as the glass shattered above them. She looked at him. “You okay?”

He nodded. “Thanks to you.”

She smiled. She stood and looked down at the gun. She picked it up and her hand heated and melted it, mangling it. She dropped it. She went up to the upper floor with her brother and looked down at everyone. “What in the Hell is going on?”

He shook his head. “I have no idea.” He smiled at her. “You better get going before Grace is late for work.”

She nodded. “Right. You know one of these days I wanna make my own schedule.”

“Then maybe you should propose something to Carter concerning your partnership.”

She smiled. “Don’t tempt me.” She waved. She stopped. “Oh. Remind our favorite detective to check the bank vault.”

“Why?”

“Because whatever happened here, my money says it was a diversion for something bigger.” She smirked at him, winked and flew off.

*********************

Eddie moaned as he rolled on top of her. “I've already missed the gym.” He started to get up, but she stopped him and straddled him. “Ugh, no. Five more minutes. Come on, we never get to sleep in.”

“I know. But your dad hates tardiness.”

At that point she was done. The moment died.

“Buzzkill.”

“The buzziest.” She climbed off him and grabbed her laptop. She saw the picture in “Another picture of The Flash and Gaia came in. See?” She tilted the laptop toward him.

He looked at the photo as he pulled his pants on. “That red blur? How do you know that wasn't photoshopped?” He asked leaning over to get a better look.

“It wasn't. It's not a hoax or a mass hallucination.” She looked at Eddie. “You know, every day, someone new accepts the impossible and believes in him. Why can't you?”

“I believe in what I can see...what I can touch…” he caressed her arm and she smiled. “…what I can feel. Which means I believe in you.” He kissed her.

************

Barry got to the scene and greeted Joe. “Hey.”

“Busy morning.” He came in closer. “Witnesses reported seeing a red streak?”

“Joe, you should have seen it. It was like everybody in here was trying to kill each other. Grace and I got here just in time.”

“Well, it must've been a diversion, because there's 1/2 million bucks missing from the vault. There's a tracer in the cash stacks. We're trying to find the signal.”

He chuckled. Joe smiled. “What’s so funny?”

“Gracie was right.”

“She usually is, but what about this time?”

“She had said to me before she flew off that her money was on this all being a diversion.” He smiled, pride in his eyes. “You know she would have been an amazing detective.”

He smiled. “Maybe a certain man in in red should promote her from sidekick--”

“She’s not my sidekick. She’s my partner.”

He nodded. “Have you told the others at the Lab that?” He looked at his adopted son. “Meantime, any idea what could've caused such mass...this?”

“A neurotoxin, maybe. I'm going to swab some surfaces, see what I can find, but I think maybe they got whammied.”

“Did you just say “whammied”?”

He shrugged and they both listened to the blond that had the gun try and convince Eddie that she wouldn’t have hurt anyone, but she got so angry.

******************

Back at the precinct, Eddie is pacing in Singh’s office trying to convince both him and Joe that something’s going on and he knows who it could be causing it all. “Something is happening in this city and everyone wants to pretend like it isn't, but it is, and I think we should do something about it.”

Singh continued spreading the mayo on his burger. “My boyfriend has decided we need to eat healthy at home, so work is now the only place I can eat what I like.” He looked at Eddie. “Oh, I'm sorry, were you saying something, Detective?”

“The Blur, The Flash, the man in the red suit...whatever he's called and his sister…they were spotted at the bank this morning.”

“You mean the bank that was robbed of 1/2 million dollars, where a dozen people tried to murder each other, and you think our attention should be focused on catching Santa Claus.”

“I can't explain how he gets to and from crime scenes so fast or how everyone is convinced that his sister can fly. We need to figure out who they are and what they want.”

He looked at him. “You should ask your girlfriend. She writes fan fiction about them.”

Eddie looked over at Joe. “Joe, help me out here.”

“Sorry, partner. I stopped believing in Santa when I was about eight.”

***************

Grace walked into Jitters and scanned the room. She found Iris sitting in one of the leather chairs and walked over to her. She slid down across from her. “What’s up?”

“Eddie’s pissing me off,” she said, frustration in her features.

“What happened?”

“It’s taken me weeks… ** _ **weeks**_** …to convince him that the Flash and Gaia are real and now that I have convinced him he’s trying to get them arrested!”

“What?!” Grace asked, her heart jackrabbiting in her chest. “You’re joking right?”

She scoffed. “I wish.”

“But I thought Gaia saved his life?” She pointed at Iris. “She saved yours more than once.”

She nodded. “I know.” She shook her head. “I don’t get it.” She sighed. “I think he’s jealous.”

“Of what? Your friendship? Or the fact that you have secret meet-ups with Central City’s dynamic duo and he’s no longer your hero?”

Iris looked at her sister and smiled after a few minutes. “Damn, you’re good.”

She smiled. “I have spent fifteen years figuring you out. Not to mention three years taking about eight years of courses to be able to read people for a living.” Her phone buzzed and she glanced down at it. It was from Caitlin asking her to come to the lab. “I have to run. I kinda snuck out as it is. If I’m not back in my office by the time Eric does his daily check in he’ll flip.”

Iris nodded and hugged her. She looked into her eyes. “You seem happier, but sadder at the same time.”

She smiled. “I am happier, but Carter’s leaving tomorrow.”

Iris winced. “Oh, that’s right.”

She nodded. “Yeah.” She blew her a kiss. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

*****************

She jogged into the Cortex. “Sorry!” she said and looked at Barry and Wells. “Iris needed to talk about something.” She sighed. “It’s important but I’ve always--”

Barry’s brow furrowed. “What’s wrong with you?”

“She’s panicking.”

They turned to see Carter walking into the Cortex. Cisco looked at him. “How can you tell?”

“Because she rambles when she’s panicking,” he told him. He smiled at him, tapping his shoulder. “You’ll get every little nuance about her, man. Don’t worry.”

She sighed. “Don’t worry about it. What I’m panicking over isn’t important right now.” She looked at her brother. “What do you need?”

He smiled. “Your psychologist brain.”

She nodded. “I figured.”

“Anger, hate, aggression,” Wells said, wheeling toward the siblings.

“A Jedi craves not these things,” Cisco said imitating Yoda. He looked around and smiled. “No one is feeling that quote?”

Grace smiled, kissed him and said, “It was adorable, but no.”

“Everyone in the bank went total savage for, like, five minutes. And then they were fine again.”

“Yeah, but anger’s a provocational emotion. It can’t just be there. You have to already feel it.” She looked around at everyone who was staring at her. Barry, Carter and Cisco were smiling. “What?”

Barry smiled. “I love it when you use your science.”

She laughed. “Well, thank you, but this is what I was asked to be here--besides, that I’m your much better half of this team.”

His brows lifted. “Oh, really?”

She smiled. “Yep.”

He laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing her hair. “That you are, Kiddo.”

“Anger can be a powerful emotion. Grace is right. If this meta-human can engender irrational feelings of anger in his victims, he can do a lot of damage.”

She nodded. “And he’s right. Anger is a basic human emotion. It’s one of the elemental ones. Along with happiness, sadness, disgust and anxiety. All of these emotions are tied to basic human survival. Anger is related to the “fight, flight, or freeze” response of the sympathetic nervous system…” her voice trailed off when she seen Carter’s smile. “What?”

He stared at her for a long moment and then said, “And Grace Allen is back, Ladies and Gentlemen.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Shut up.”

Cisco laughed. “Hey, Baby, where’d you go?”

“Nowhere,” she told him. “Just not everyone likes the fact that I have a brain.”

Caitlin walked to the computers and put in a thumb drive. “Detective West helped get a copy of the cat scans the hospital did on everyone at the bank. Take a look.”

Grace walked slowly closer to the screen. “Holy…shit,” she muttered. “The Amygdala is lit up like a Christmas tree.”

Cisco looked at her. “The what?”

Grace walked over to the big screen and pointed to the section of the brain that was the brightest. “Right. It’s the part of the brain that processes fear, triggers anger, and motivates us to act. It alerts us to danger and activates the fight or flight response.”

“Holy crap…” Cisco muttered.

She smiled. “The prefrontal cortex is the area of the brain that controls reasoning, judgment and helps us think logically before we act.” She looked at Caitlin. “Caitlin, you’ll like this.” She looked at the men in the room. “Stereotypically, the female gender is considered to be the more emotional ones when biologically speaking that is false. Men are the more emotional ones, while women are more logical. Men have always been the hunters, the gatherers, the protectors. They have been hard-wired to be competitive and dominate and to assess any situation with an air of suspicion. The amygdala’s emotional response provides a mechanism to work around the limitation of the prefrontal cortex’s reasoning.” She took a breath. “Basically, it takes from what it already knows and implies that emotional response to the current situation.”

She looked at Carter. “Like when Heather Simpson--your high school girlfriend--got angry at me for being friends with you and being in your car with you--and took her brother’s softball bat to your dad’s classic mustang.”

Carter took a deep breath. “I remember.”

She pointed at him. “That. That right there is exactly what I’m talking about.” She looked at everyone. “If we were to take a scan of Carter’s brain right now, it might light up like this but it wouldn’t be as bright. Basically, me reminding him of that moment had his prefrontal cortex reminding him how angry that act made him and it triggered the anger response immediately.” She looked at her brother. “In the long about way I’m saying that this meta can manipulate the prefrontal cortex of the brain.” She exhaled. “Sorry.”

Wells shook his head. “Don’t be.”

Caitlin looked at the scans. “Grace is right. The part that I’m looking at though is the part that is still lit up--executive function part of the brain.” Barry looked at her and she smiled. “It’s part of the brain that stops people from doing whatever random and potentially destructive thing that pops into their head.”

“How do you think the meta does it to them?”

“That's the 1/2 million dollar question.”

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he looked at the text. “Well, you and Grace get together and when you figure it out, call me.”

“Will do, Big Brother.” She looked at both Cisco and Carter. “Looks like I’m getting sick.”

Carter smiled. “You are looking a little pale.”

She laughed. She looked at Caitlin. “Will my personal doctor be able to write me off for a few days?”

She nodded. “Of course. Besides, it’ll be fun to have another girl around.”

She laughed. “Honey, any time you want to have a girl doctor gab session I’m only a phone call away.”

“Great, call me,” he said.

“Is The Flash off to another rooftop rendezvous with Iris?”

“No. Yeah, but she probably just wants to ask me... I mean, you know, him... about meta-human stuff for her blog.”

She shook her head. “That’s not it.”

He looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“Ten to one says, she’s gonna warn you about Eddie.”

Remembering what happened at the precinct he nodded. “Right.”

“Do you want some advice?” Caitlin asked.

“No matter what I say, I'm getting the advice, right?”

“Don't get involved. As The Flash or yourself. You don't want to be the one to blame for their breakup.”

“Take it from me,” Carter said, eyeing his friend with a look that said, ‘you know what I mean’.

He nodded. “Okay. I hear you.” He glanced at Carter and the younger man just nodded. Knowing all too well that he had to go…because it was Iris.

****************

Iris walked to the closed front door of the coffee shop and flipped the lock. She turned and looked up when she heard the electrifying whoosh.

“Iris.”

“Flash. Where’s your sister?”

“She got tied up with something.”

She sauntered further toward the counter as she said, “Be great to call you by your real name.”

“You mean like Ralph?”

“Is your name Ralph?”

“What did you want to see me about?”

“My boyfriend, he's…”

“Did you guys break up?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“He's a cop and he thinks that you're dangerous. And he's trying to convince his boss that you're a menace that needs to be stopped. I thought I should warn you.” She paused, watching her. “Anyways, you should probably go.”

The Flash didn’t move.

“You're not going.”

“Barry, are you there?”

“What?”

“The police got a ping from the tracer hidden in the stolen cash. SWAT team's closing in on the 1600 block of Pass,” Cisco informed him. “Your sister’s already on her way there.”

“Now stop ruining Iris' love life and go.”

Carter laughed. “You crack me up.”

“What? Why?”

“Because let me throw a scenario out to you.”

“Shoot.”

“What if when you met…Ronnie--was that his name?”

She nodded.

“What if he already had someone, do you think you could have shut your feelings off?”

“Well no…”

“Then you understand Barry’s feelings. He would never intentionally hurt Iris.”

******************

Grace flew up above the storage unit and looked around. She saw a figure in the shadows that looked vaguely familiar, but scanned the area. She landed on the roof and knelt down. She tapped her comm on her chest. “Hey, CJ?”

“Yeah, G?”

“Patch me into Barry.”

He smiled at the group and changed the frequency. “Go ahead, G.”

“Hey, Big Brother.”

“Hey, Kiddo.”

“There’s about four SWAT guys with dad. They’re sneaking up on him now.”

“Okay. Thank you. When did you become my eyes in the sky anyway?”

She smiled. “Hey, we superhero vigilantes gotta stick together.” She saw one of the SWAT guys aim the gun at Joe and as Barry ran in, Grace went invisible and landed in front of the guy. She took the gun by one hand, melted the end that the bullets came out of and punched him as arrows went into him.

Gaia and Flash both turned to look and saw the Arrow. They both smiled. “Nice mask.”

Gaia looked at her brother and smiled. She walked over to Joe. “Are you okay, Detective?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Nice punch, by the way.”

She smiled. “I had a great coach.”

“I didn’t know you could go invisible?”

She nodded. “New ability a friend help me figure out.” She winked at him. “Gotta go.”

********************

Out in a remote area of Central City, Felicity and Dig were finishing up their dinner. She sipped her soda. “It's kinda comforting to know that no matter what city you go to, Big Belly Burger is always going to taste like Big Belly Burger.”

“You mean full of grease and salt?” Dig asked.

She spun on him and said, sounding shocked. “I thought those were the secret ingredients.”

They heard an engine revving and Felicity said, “Oliver’s back.”

Just then the Flash showed up and they saw Grace land on the wooden porch and keep walking. Barry smiled. “By the way, I gave Oliver, like, 1/2 hour head start.”

“Hi, Barry.”

“Hey, Felicity.” He looked at Dig. “How you doing, Dig?”

“You're fast.” He turned and looked at Grace. “And you can fly.”

Barry looked at Felicity. “Did you guys not tell him about us?”

“Seeing is believing, or... drooling.”

They laughed. Grace looked at Barry. “Ooh. Remind me later to go with Carter to BBB and get a large chili cheese fry.”

He laughed. “Right. But he heard you.” He thumbed behind him and they all seen something coming from the electrical wires that were all over and he started walking toward them. “Hey.”

Barry smiled. “Hey.”

Felicity looked at the dark haired, blue-eyed guy. “Wow…you’re hot,” she whispered.

He laughed. “Thanks.”

Oliver parked his motorcycle and got off. Barry walked to him. “Hey, thanks for showing up back there, but we had that.”

“Uh-huh.”

“What, I was getting ready to make my move.”

“What move? The one to the morgue? The only one that I saw who had a strategy to anything was your sister--which I gotta say her abilities are a little underutilitized.”

“What do you mean?”

Grace looked at Oliver. “Don’t worry about it, A. I’m used to being underestimated.” She shrugged. She pulled her mask off.

He looked at his sister. “Wait, we’re gonna talk about that later. So what are you guys doing in Central City?”

“Working a case.” Felicity bent down and picked up her purse. She pulled out a boomerang. “Suspicious homicide in the styling where the murder weapon is a boomerang.”

“Cool,” Barry exclaimed. He saw the glare from Oliver. “I mean, awful.”

Oliver looked at Grace. “Who is that?”

“This is Dr. Carter Stephens--”

“Wait. _The_ Carter Stephens? The one that just put the Phoenix 5000 on the market?”

Carter nodded. “That’s me, however, I didn’t develop it. Grace did.” He smiled. “All that amazingness is all from that big beautiful brain of hers.”

Felicity smiled. “Nice. She looks like a beauty queen and can develop computer software.”

“All right, stop,” Grace muttered.

Carter smiled. “I just tweaked some things with my new abilities.”

Grace looked at Felicity. “What evidence brought you here? Is he holed up here or something?”

Felicity smiled. “I found traces of iron oxide on it. I know it's a long shot, but Central City has the highest concentration of iron oxide in the country.”

Barry spoke, “Did you know Australian aboriginals use boomerangs to hunt? Mainly on kangaroo, which is a surprisingly low-fat source of prot…” he cleared his throat when he saw Oliver’s eyes on him.

“We were following up a lead when we heard the S.W.A.T. raid over the radio, and I thought that I would come by...watch you make your move,” Oliver told him.

“I had a cousin got hit by lightning once. He just developed a stutter.”

“Huh.”

Carter smiled. “Fun fact: Did you know that there are two-hundred-forty thousand reported cases involving lightning each year?” 

Grace furrowed her brow at her best friend, but Barry spoke up. “Well, my team and I are after a nasty meta-human who makes people angry.”

“Cool.” She saw the look on Oliver’s face. “I mean awful.”

Grace laughed. “Has anyone ever told you you’ve got the intimidation factor down pretty good?”

He smiled. “They have actually.” His smile widened. “But I don’t intimidate you.”

She shook her head. She folder her arms over her chest. “Do you know why?”

“Why?” He smiled. He liked her. She was really sweet.

“Because whether you want people to know it or not you’re not an asshole and you’re not as violent as you seem.” She smiled. “You’re a former billionaire playboy who continues to play up that persona because it helps you hide what your true intentions are. That you want to keep your family, friends and City safe…at all costs.” Her eyes softened. “However, as much as most people in Starling see you as a hero, you don’t see yourself that way.”

Dig coughed in disbelief. “How did you do that?”

“I have a PhD in Forensic Psychology. One of my assignments was to figure out Batman’s true intentions.” She shrugged. “Figuring people out, reading them is one of the things that my professor said I was really good at.”

Felicity smiled. “That’s good.”

She smiled. “Thank you, but just like Oliver, it’s easier for me to hide that aspect of myself and let people believe what they want about me because no one ever really believes me anyway.”

Barry smiled. “Uh, well, since you guys are here, why don't we team up? I'll help you find your boomerang man, you can help us find our super rage-a-holic.”

“We'd love to,” Felicity volunteered.

“No, we'll handle our business and head home,” Oliver interjected.

“The fastest way to find out everything we need to know about the boomerang is to sic S.T.A.R. Labs on it.”

“Enough people know my secret identity.”

Grace smiled. “Carter won’t say anything and even if he does I have too much to blackmail him with anyway.” She winked at him.

Oliver smiled. “I believe you.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know that not once have I ever said anything to anyone about the fact that my childhood best friends are the Dynamic Duo of Central City.”

“Fine…” Felicity said. “I'll go. They already know who I am.” She started walking toward the van. “You can drop me off, and I will meet up with you later.”

Barry raced off to stand in front of her. “How 'bout I give you a lift?”

They raced off Barry calling over his shoulder. “See you at lab.”

“Man, that's not freaking you out?”

Grace and Carter laughed. Grace looked at Oliver. “Bye. Talk later.”

He nodded. He looked out at Barry. “Let's go.”

*******************

Grace and Carter walked into STAR Labs to see Barry trying to pat the fire out of Felicity’s shirt. “Ooh!” Grace exclaimed and rushed into another room. She came out just as she saw Felicity standing there in a bra.

“You guys remember Felicity?”

“I’ll always remember this,” Cisco said staring.

Grace shot him a glare. Carter shook his head. “Dude, remind me to get you two things for Christmas.”

“What?”

“A shovel and a gift card to the best flower shop in the City…you’re gonna need it.”

Cisco looked at Grace. “Sorry, Baby.”

She gave him a thin smile. “Hmm.” She folded her arms and looked at Felicity. “Show them.”

“What brings you back to Central City? Not Barry?” Caitlin asked.

“No, not Barry. This? Not happening. We looked down that road and we said “no, thank you.”

“They get it.”

“Actually, I'm here... because of this.”

Cisco gasped. “Awesome!” He took it from her. “What are the wings made of?”

“Not sure…”

“I'm thinking some sort of composite or high-density plastic…”

“Reinforced with carbon fiber.”

“Oh, that's weird. It almost feels like it's…”

“Vibrating.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah. Oh, I wanna run some tests, and I wanna run 'em right now!”

“Mm-hmm.”

Grace exhaled. “Awesome.” She looked at her brother. “I’m gonna go change.”

He nodded. “Gracie.”

She turned. “Yeah?”

He shrugged and she smiled. She blew him a kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Carter followed her into the ‘locker’ room. “Is it cool?”

She nodded. She pulled her jacket off and put it on the bench. She spun really fast and when she stopped she was changed into a pair of leggings and a burgundy chunky sweater with her black high-heel boots. She sat down and ran her hands through her hair.

He sat down next to her. “You okay?”

She shrugged. “It’s whatever at this point.” She looked at Carter. “Guys are gonna look. Doesn’t matter who I’m with.” She sighed and put her chin in her hands. She looked at him. “Is it wrong that I want to be enough?”

He shook his head. “No. Everyone wants that, Angel.” He kissed her hair. “Come on. I have an idea.” He took her hand and ignored the electricity he felt with the gesture.

“What?”

“Something we haven’t done in awhile.”

They went into the Cortex and he tapped into the speaker system and turned on one of Grace’s favorite songs to dance to. Kristinia DeBarge’s Goodbye. Grace laughed. Barry turned and smiled as he watched them dance to the choreography Grace had come up with.

When she really started dancing, Carter stepped back with Barry and Caitlin and saw Cisco and Felicity watching now. Caitlin looked at them both. “She can dance too?”

They nodded.

“Is there anything she can’t do?”

“Um…she’s afraid of motorcycles and can’t drive a stick to save her life.”

When she finished she looked at Caitlin. “Did any of what I told you help find him?”

She nodded. “The officer who was affected tonight says he saw a flash of red before he lost control. I suspect the meta is inducing rage via the ocular nerve.”

“Ooh. That’s interesting.”

“Oh, Dr. Wells wants to see you. Both of you.”

Both Barry and Grace walked in to the other room to see Joe and Wells waiting for them.

“Why do I feel like I just got called into the principal's office?”

“Starling City vigilante,”Joe said.

“He calls himself “The Arrow” now.”

“Oh, does he... “Flash”?”

“Wait, what's the problem?”

“We don't trust him.,” Wells told them.

“You guys don't even know him.”

“I know that he was wanted for murder in at least 12 different cases dating back three years,” Joe replied.

“So wait timeout.” Grace looked at them both. “You’re condemning the Arrow for something that we did until about two months ago?”

“Grace--”

“No,” she shook her head. “We’ve killed people, Joe. People that did bad things to other people. Just like the guys in Starling.”

“Joe?”

She glared at him. “Yes, Joe.” She put her hands on her hips. “Or did you forget when you start acting like Cop dad, I call you Joe.”

Joe sighed. “Fine. I know there's been at least two major terrorist attacks in Starling since he became active.”

“Do you even know the definition of a terrorist?”

They stared at her. “See that’s the problem with using that word. A terrorist is a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.”

“We know Miss Allen.”

“And what, Grace? What about all the criminals that he put arrows through? Those, what, don't count?”

She looked at Joe. She pointed out: “One was a slum lord and killed innocent people. One was associated with the Chinese Triad. And another, a very powerful person in fact, blackmailed other one-percenters in the town to serve his own agenda. And he killed thousands doing it. Even his own damn son!” She glared at her dad. “And you and I know that two of those people would easily get off from whatever punishment they would have received because even politicians and judges have a price. And secrets they don’t want to get out.”

“Grace is right. The cops there are cool with him now. He doesn't kill people anymore. He's a hero, Joe.”

“You're a hero, Barry. You’re a hero, Grace,” Wells told them. “You offer protection, hope, light. What that man does is carry out a dark reckoning for his city. It is a brutal, violent vision of justice, one we do not share. You truly think he's a hero, fine, so be it. But he's not the kind you should be looking up to.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Then who, Doctor? Who should we look up, huh? You? Joe? Batman?” She folded her arms over her chest. “You know, if you even knew half of what I know about the Arrow you would know that he knows and feels guilt for the way he started out, but he cares about that City and the people in it.” She looked at her dad. “And some people would say that the metas who show up here are terrorists too. And in some towns, dad, the cops are the bad guys. Just because you have a badge that says you can arrest people doesn’t give you the right to judge people you _nothing_ about.”

There was a loud crash, glass breaking and then screaming. They rushed out of the room to see Carter catching the boomerang. Cisco walked out of the other room holding up his hand, “That’s my bad. That’s on me.”

Joe looked at Grace and Barry. “I want that “Arrow” out of my City. Tonight.”

*******************

Grace used her key that Carter gave her to his apartment and walked in. “CJ!”

He looked over the glass encased railing. “Grace?”

“Hey, I’ve been thinking…”

“Uh-oh. The last time you had that look we got grounded for like three months.”

She laughed and met him halfway up the stairs. “Nothing that horrible. What would I have to do to be an active member of this partnership?”

“Active member?” he asked walking down the stairs with her. “You are. You’re the silent partner.”

“But what if I don’t want to be silent anymore?”

He walked into the kitchen and poured them both a cup of coffee. He handed hers to her. “I thought you said owning your own business wasn’t--”

“I know, but that was **_**before**_** I became Gaia. I’m not going to quit my job at CCPN, but I want to do my own thing too. I would love to help you.” She took his hand. “You know like in high school--you came up with the idea and I implemented it? I want to do that.”

He nodded. “Okay. Well, that winery deal that I talked to you about, what do you think? Do you think you could build a program to help them be better organized and keep track of inventory, marketing and the money?”

She nodded. “Probably. Whatcha thinking? Simplicity or something a little more complicated?”

He smiled. “Something a little more complicated. Not majorly complicated, but not easy either.”

She nodded and began drawing out something on a flyer he had on the island. Few minutes later she showed him. “Something like that?”

He smiled. “Perfect.” He held up a hand to her. “I was going to wait for Christmas to give you this. Wait here.” He walked upstairs and into his bedroom. He came back down with a medium sized box. He sat it on the floor.

She looked into the box and gasped. She bent down and looked through the box. She pulled out the state of the art laptop and opened it. “Oh, Carter!” She looked up at him. “It’s beautiful.”

He smiled. “I’m glad you like it. I got all the software you said you needed to build your programs too.” He shrugged and looked hopeful at her. “I’ve always hoped that you would join me, Gracie, so I guess it was kinda of my way of bribing you.”

She laughed and kissed his cheek. “For future reference, you don’t have to bribe me. We both knew sooner or later I’d do it.”

He smiled. “If you ever need a place to concentrate or whatever, um…my place is always open. In fact if you want I can set up an office area for you.”

She smiled up at him. Her heart skittered a little. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

He smiled. “By the way, I’m not leaving until Friday now.”

She smiled. “Yay for me! Sucks for Europe.”

He laughed. He kissed her forehead. _I love you._ “You’re adorable,” he finally said.

“Thank you.” Her phone buzzed and she looked at the message on it. “Oh, wow…it’s Oliver.”

“What’s he want?”

“To meet at the location I met him at.”

“Want some company?”

She smiled. “Always.” She sat the computer back into the box. “I’m gonna leave this here.”

“Okay.” They walked out together about 10 minutes later.

****************

“You’re later,” Oliver said to her.

She smiled. “Sorry, but I had other things to take care of.”

“Which were?” he questioned.

“A multi-million dollar deal,” she said. She smiled.

“It’s okay. Your brother was late too.”

“He’s always late,” Grace said. “What else is new?”

Barry looked at Oliver. “So, how do we catch Bivolo here?”

“Oh, no, we don't here. We're here to train.”

“What? Like Rocky?”

“I read your friend Iris' blog post on The Flash and Gaia, and I visited all the crime scenes you fought at.”

“Don't you sleep?”

“Last month you took on a man named Lenard Snart.”

“We call him Captain Cold.”

Grace looked at Oliver. “Not my idea.”

“We can talk about you giving your enemies silly code names later.”

“You mean like over coffee with Deathstroke and The Huntress?” Barry reminded him.

“The point is that you engaged Snart on a commuter train, which he derailed.”

“Okay, there may have been some damage, but I got the job done, I was the hero.”

“Barry, when you approach a new environment, do you case every inch of it? You could. You have the time. But you don't. You just run in blind. There's a difference, Barry, between having powers and having precision.”

“When I came to you thinking about going out and helping people, you said I could be an inspiration.”

“Living this life...well, it takes more than a mask. It takes discipline. And since you are probably as stubborn as I am…” He put an arrow into his bow and held it up ready for fire.

“What is that for?”

“You're going to run over there, you're going to come back at me, and you're going to get hit with an arrow.”

Barry laughed. “No, I'm not.”

Oliver laughed. “Yes, you are.”

“Okay, fine, I will humor you.” He ran ahead and stopped on a mound of dirt and grass. “Ready?!”

“Ready.”

“Nice try.”

Just then 2 automatic bows fired two arrows into Barry’s back. “Gah! Ah! What, you shot me?”

“Oh, my God! Barry!”

“I heard you heal fast.”

Grace glared at the other man. She put a hand on Carter’s arm and walked toward Oliver. “Hey, Oliver.”

“Yeah?”

Without saying a word she punched him in the jaw. He groaned and stumbled. “What was that for?!”

She glared at him. “There was another way to prove your fucking point, Mr. Queen.”

He worked his jaw. “Who the hell taught you to punch like that?”

“Joe West and my kickboxing coach.” She smirked. “Not to mention my ability to manipulate air.” Her eyes narrowed. “I control all of the Earth’s elements and so far some of it’s sub-elements.” She straightened her coat.

“Nice punch, Angel Face.”

She smiled. “Thanks. There is some perks to these powers.”

******************

Felicity caught up to them when they walked toward the Cortex. “How'd it go with Oliver?”

“You know, to be honest, not exactly the partnership I thought it would be.”

“Oh, did he really do the thing with the arrows?”

“You knew he was going to shoot me?”

Grace sighed. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

She held up her hands. “Whoa, it is practically impossible to tell when Oliver's making a joke.”

“Hey, we just got a ping from the facial recognition software on Bivolo, aka, Prism.”

“Since when do we have facial recognition software?”

“Happy Chanukah,” Felicity said walking in.

“I tweaked it,” Carter told him, “with Grace’s program.”

**********************

“Allen! Where are you with the Bivolo case?” Singh asked.

“I'm working it,” he snapped.

“Care to be more specific?”

Barry kept walking.

“Hey, how 'bout you answer me when I ask you a question?”

Barry turned on him. “Hey! How 'bout you back off? Excuse me? Look, I work just as hard as anyone in this building. I don't need you constantly berating me to do my job. When it's done, you will have it, all right?”

Joe stepped up and put space between the two. “Sorry, captain. He's having an allergic reaction to some bad medication.”

“You remind him who answers to who.” Singh walked away.

“Have you lost your mind?”

“I'm so sick of Singh talking to me like that.”

“He's still our boss. Now I know you're upset about losing Bivolo…”

“Wait, wait... you're just like him. Like Wells, and Oliver, and everyone else my whole life that didn't think I could get the job done. Do you want to help me, Joe? You want to help me? Get my dad out of prison. You helped put him there, didn't you?” Barry saw Eddie and Iris walk off together.

“Barry, I need you to calm down. Why don't we both take a ride to S.T.A.R. Labs?”

He pushed at him. “I'm calm! Okay?”

“Barry!” Grace exclaimed coming to her brother.

“When I am not calm, you'll know.”

“Barry!” she screamed. “Take some breaths.” She put her hands on his chest and calmly said, “Breathe. Please--”

“You want me to breathe?” he said. “Fine, I’ll breathe.” He shoved her hands away. “Why don’t you go find something else to do? Stop following me around! I don’t need you! I don’t need any of you!” He glared at Grace, whirling on her quickly. She backed up. “All you’ve done is follow me around! Get away from me! GET AWAY!”

Grace looked at him. Her eyes filling with tears. “Barry--”

“Leave me alone!” he yelled again. “God! Why can’t you just leave me alone! All you’ve done is been my stupid little shadow. I never wanted you around anyway. Go cry somewhere else. We both know you’re really good at it.”

She inhaled, shocked by his outburst. She let him go this time. Joe walked to her and she shook her head. “Don’t…”

“Gracie…”

When she turned to him, tears were streaming down her face. “No, dad.” She turned on her heel and walked away.

Joe sighed and pulled out his phone. He tapped Carter’s contact and waited for the deep voice to answer. “Hey, Carter. It’s me. Can you meet me at STAR Labs?” He listened. “Okay. Good. See you in a few.”

*********************

Felicity nodded. “Okay. I'll call you back later.” She hung up. “That was The Arrow. He says Barry is acting strangely.”

“Strangely, how?”

“He's been whammied.”

They all turned to see Joe and Carter both walking in. “He was acting angry. It was scary. Not to mention, he yelled at Grace. I mean raged at her. And his eyes...they glowed.”

“It's possible that his body is fighting off the effect, so it's hitting him slower,” Caitlin said.

“When it comes to rage, that is not a good thing,” Wells pointed out. “The longer you suppress your emotions…”

“The bigger the explosion,” Felicity finished.

“Considering what he can do, how do we even stop him?”

“A cold-gun would come in real handy right about now.”

“Hey,” Both Joe and Carter said in unison.

“I'm just sayin'.”

“None of us can stop Barry. I don’t know if Grace could even do it.”

“Speaking of Grace, where is she?”

“That’s why I called you,” Joe said. “You know her better than anyone. You know what happened when Barry told her to stop following him around and all the stuff he said to her.”

He nodded. “Right. I remember.”

“Where did she hide out?”

“My old bedroom,” he answered.

Joe smiled. “Really?”

He nodded. “Usually when Barry said that stuff it was when you were working and he wanted to hang out with Iris by himself. So, she came to someone who has always wanted her around…”

Joe nodded. “You.”

“Me,” he confirmed.

“So, being that none of you live at your childhood homes, where would she go?” Felicity asked.

He thought about it for a moment and smiled at Joe. “Don’t worry.” He looked at Cisco. “Either of you. I think I know exactly where she’d be.”

Joe smiled. “Go get her.”

“What about Barry?”

Wells smiled. “Fortunately, Felicity knows someone who can.” He turned to her. “I think you better call back Oliver Queen. We're gonna need The Arrow's help.”

Felicity nodded. She looked at Carter. “Go get Grace. If he can’t we may need her…abilities.”

*******************

Carter walked into his apartment and smiled when he seen her coat draped over the chair in the sitting area. Did he know her or what? He looked around. “Gracie?”

No answer.

“Gracie, honey, where are you?”

“Out here, Carter.”

He turned and walked out into the patio space. He saw her looking out at the skyline. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She turned into his arms and sobbed. He held her. “Shh…” he whispered, soothingly.”Baby, he didn’t mean it.”

“But he said--”

“That Bivolo guy whammied him,” Carter told her.

She looked up at him. “What?” She sniffled.

“Bivolo whammied him. They’re calling Oliver to help them get Barry under control. Felicity wanted me to come get you to help.”

She nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

**********************

Cisco walked around and looked at Diggle. “Ooh, see I knew The Arrow was Oliver Queen.”

“No, you didn’t.”

Joe turned and sighed. “Baby…” he wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her forehead. “Where were you?”

She smiled. “Tell you late”

Cisco tried to recover his bravado. “I mean, I had it narrowed down to, like, a list of 150 people, but he was definitely on that list.”

Oliver smiled. “Nice to see you again, Miss Allen.”

She smiled. “How’s the jaw?”

Joe lifted a brow and looked between the two. “What happened?”

Carter smiled. “Gracie didn’t tell you?”

He shook his head. “No…”

“Gracie punched him. Put some power behind it too.”

She smiled when she saw the shocked expressions. “He pissed me off.”

He laughed. “To answer your question, it’s okay. It hurts a little.” He looked at Joe. “Nice job teaching her to hit.”

“Thank you. I taught both my girls to do it.”

John looked at the team. “Any ideas on how to stop Barry’s rage fest?”

“I have an idea about how to do that. Joe, we're gonna need your help.”

Joe stepped forward. “We need to find him first before he hurts somebody.”

“I have him. Facial recognition picked him up on a traffic camera downtown. Oh, God.”

They looked at the screen and saw the man on the ground and Barry dressed in his suit in a stand-off. Grace looked at her dad. “That’s Eddie!”

Joe looked at Grace. “Go. Be careful.”

She nodded. She looked at Oliver and Dig. “I hold him off. You get the plan from Dr. Wells and meet me.”

They nodded. She twirled really quickly and was dressed in her suit, mask and all. She flew off and within moments they saw her land in the street. She jet-propelled and punched her brother, sending him back.

In the Lab, the 2 teams winced and groaned. Dig looked at the screen. “Damn, that’s gonna hurt.”

“Or it’ll piss him off to the point that he hits her back,” Cisco muttered.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re an extremist?” Carter asked.

She looked at Eddie. “Get up, Detective.” She looked at her brother and threw up one hand and he smack hard into the invisible wall. She looked at her brother. “Look, I don’t know what in the hell is wrong with you, Flash, but you will not attack people, do you understand me?!”

He growled and tried to run again but hit the invisible wall. The Arrow showed up and shot a rope arrow and it went around him. She watched in horror as Barry dragged him through the streets. “Fuck!” she exclaimed and flew into the air. She jet-propelled forward and landed in front of Barry. She threw up both hands and this time he hit the “wall”hard. “Arrow! You okay?”

“Yeah.”

She looked at her brother. “Look, I know you’re angry. The world has dealt shitty-ass hands, I understand more than most.”

“What the hell do you understand, huh? You have no idea what it feels like to be in love with someone who will never love you back. You won’t even notice when the most perfect person in the world to you has been in front of you this whole time!”

“What the hell are talking about?”

“Carter! He’s been in love you for ten damn years, Gracie and you haven’t even noticed.”

At the Lab, Carter’s face dropped. “Oh, fuck…”

Cisco looked at Carter as he collapsed into a chair. “Secret’s out.”

“Look, Cisco, I’m not--”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Like Barry said, she hasn’t even noticed.”

Downtown Gaia looked at her brother. “Just because I never said anything, doesn’t mean I never noticed,” she answered back.

Oliver fired two explosive arrows and Barry went flying. He fired a tranquilizer arrow and Barry burned it off. Grace sighed. She looked at Oliver. “I have a way.” She tapped her comm. “Daddy, don’t hate me for this.”

“Do what you need to, Baby.”

She closed her eyes and held up her hands. Oliver watched as the temperature dropped around them and the wind picked up. As the wind picked up it began to snow. And when it began to snow, she lifted a hand and shot a stream of ice from her hand. It wrapped around the lower part of his torso. She reached her brother, the snow blowing past her as the wind whipped her hair. “I love you.” She said, her emotions getting the best of her.

In her ear she heard, “Keep it together, Gracie. I’m right here. Keep it together.”

“I love you, Barry,” she said as her tears streamed down her face. She pulled her mask off. “Look at me, Barry.”

His eyes came to her. She waved Oliver over. “I believe in you.”

“I still believe in you, Barry.”

The Arrow Van pulled up. Oliver held him. Wells hit the doors and the colors began flicking. Grace sighed and started crying again as she heard him start to groan. “Barry, are you okay?” Oliver asked.

“Oh, this is gonna be a special kind of hangover.” The 2 guys chuckled.

Grace whimpered, trying to keep her composure. Barry turned and Grace ran to him. That’s when it all broke and he held her tight. “I love you, Big Brother.”

He held her tightly. “I love you too, Kiddo. I’m so sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”

She sniffled. “Just tell me that it’s not true.”

He shook his head. “None of it. You’re my baby sister and I love you, Kiddo. I always will.”

“And the Allen Siblings are back, Ladies and Gentlemen,” Carter said.

Cisco laughed. “So it was a tie.”

Carter shook his head. “Dude, the fact that either of you said what you said is so wrong.”

When they finished taking down Bivolo and brought him in, Oliver informed everyone that his identity needed to stay a secret. He finished talking to Wells and then walked to Cisco. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“So, I know you’re with Grace.”

He nodded. Oliver smiled. “Some friendly advice.”

He nodded. “Sure.”

“The only way to keep the girl is to show her that she’s the most important person in your world. If you can’t do that then let her go. Let her find the one who will.”

He nodded. “Right.”


	14. Brave and the Bold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Flash shows up in Starling City wanting to see the ArrowCave. 
> 
> When ARGUS is attacked, Flash shows to help his sister help their friends.

Barry got out of Joe’s car outside the apartment building of Carter’s new place. Team Arrow had left a week ago and Iris had informed Carter that they were all coming over to check out his new apartment. Barry had told Cisco and Caitlin to come too.

Cisco looked at Barry as they stepped out of the van. “Grace is here.”

He nodded. “She usually is when she’s not with you,” he informed him. He shrugged. “They’ve always been close. There’s nothing you can do about that.”

“And if you try she’ll probably dump you,” Iris told him simply as they walked up to the entrance of the building. Iris hit the button that had Carter’s last name labeled on it.

_“Yeah?”_

“Gracie!” Barry and Iris said in unison. “Let us in!”

The door buzzed and Barry pulled it open and let everyone in first. Joe walked toward the elevator with them and said, “When we get on the elevator, Barry, will you please hit the eight.”

They all loaded into the elevator car and Barry hit the eight. They got off on the eighth floor and Iris found 802. “Found it.” She knocked happily.

_“COME IN!”_

They walked into the apartment and Iris gasped. “Oh, wow…”

They looked around as they entered. “Grace? Carter?” Barry called out.

“I’ll be right--ow!”

Barry looked up the stairs. “Gracie?”

She stood up, her updo lopsided, holding her head. “Yeah?”

He chuckled. “Oh…did you hit your head?”

“Yeah,” she said. “CJ! Everyone’s here!”

“Where is he?” Joe asked.

“In the bathroom. He’s putting in a smart shower.”

“Hey, Gracie, how hot do you wa--” his words died when he realized Cisco had come with everyone. “Hey, guys.” He smiled at Grace. “I’ll ask you later.” He smiled. “Did you hit your head again?”

She lifted her eyes. “Shut up.”

He laughed. He waved everyone up. “Come on.” He began the tour. “Here’s where Gracie’s desk will be. Then said, “To the right is the master bedroom. Or will be. It’s originally a three bedroom apartment. Knocking down a wall and making a huge master bedroom. To the left is the guest room. Then straight ahead is the bathroom.”

Iris smiled and walked into the bathroom. A loud audible gasp filtered out to them. “Oh, my God! Barry! Eddie, you gotta check this out!” She looked at her dad and pulled him in too.

They looked around. Iris looked at Barry and whispered, “Why do I have a feeling this isn’t just for him?”

Barry shook his head. “Because it’s not,” he murmured. “This has him and Gracie all over it.”

“Do you think she knows?”

“She knows,” Joe whispered as he approached his older kids. “Gracie’s not stupid. It’s like she said last week, just because she didn’t say anything didn’t mean she never noticed.”

“Then how come she never went for it?” Iris asked.

“Number one reason,” Barry said. “Carter’s her rock. She has bad luck in relationships. If they don’t work out she loses the only other person in her life who has ever been there for her--besides us, of course.” Joe looked at both of them. “That would devastate her more than any of the breaks, even with Cisco.”

They walked out of the bathroom to hear Cisco ask Grace, “Babe, where’d you get the skirt?”

Grace looked down at the red with black polka dots skirt and smoothed a hand down her stomach. “Why?”

“I’ve never seen it.”

“Um…Iris and I went shopping for Christmas and Thanksgiving clothes and I found it.”

Carter looked at Cisco suspiciously, but didn’t say anything. “Hey, Joe, Barr, Iris,” he looked at the others, “are you hungry?”

Caitlin nodded. “I could eat.”

Carter smiled while everyone else agreed. “Good. Grace and I made some deli sliders and pasta salad.”

They went downstairs and everyone got a plate of food. Barry looked at Grace. “Hey, Gracie, I was gonna ask you, do you remember that song mom would sing to us when we had nightmares?”

Grace smiled. She opened her mouth and Caitlin, Cisco and Eddie were all surprised by the voice that came out. It sounded like a broadway singer or something.

_S_ _omewhere, over the rainbow, way up high,_

_There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby._

_Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue,_

_And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true._

_Someday I'll wish upon a star_

_And wake up where the clouds are far behind me,_

_Where troubles melt like lemon drops._

_Away beyond the chimney tops_

_That's where you'll find me._

Iris smiled. “Told you she’d remember.”

“Of course I did,” Grace said. “It was the last thing, mama said to me before…”

Cisco walked up to her and put an arm around her. “Babe, don’t…”

She shook her head. “It’s okay. It’s not a bad memory.” She smiled.

“What did she look like?” Caitlin asked.

Barry, Iris, Joe and Carter pointed to Grace. Barry cleared his mouth. “Look at Grace and you’ve got mom. Spitting image, I swear.”

Grace nodded. “I’ll show you a picture later.”

Changing the subject, Caitlin asked, “Grace, Carter, we were going to ask if you minded coming with Cisco and I to Starling. We have to get something from Felicity. She forgot to give it to us.”

Carter looked at Grace. “I’d like to go. I haven’t seen Starling in a while.”

“Have you ever been?”

He nodded. “Yeah. My grandparents used to live there. My mom’s parents. In fact, grandpa worked for the train company.”

Grace smiled. “Oh, yeah! I forgot about that! He used to sneak us on to them and give us free…” her voice trailed off when she saw Joe looking at her. She smiled sweetly. “Love you, daddy.”

The group laughed. He wiped his fingers with his napkin and laughed. “Love you too, Sweetheart.”

They continued their visit.

* * *

**-STARLING CITY…**

Felicity Smoak was standing at her desk and was turning everything off and grabbing her stuff when she said, “Almost done here, Jerry. You should have went home hours ago.”

“Who’s Jerry?”

She looked up to see Caitlin, Cisco, Carter and Grace standing in her office. Cisco looked around. “Babe, this is bigger than our apartment.”

“Yeah,” Grace muttered. She turned to Carter. “We definitely need to talk about a name for our company,” she muttered.

“We do have one,” he murmured, touching her hip briefly as to not fall into her.

“We do?” she asked trying to ignore the sparks that were shooting through her spine. “What…what is it?”

“Stephens Global Dynamics,” he murmured. He shrugged. “You said in high school you didn’t care.”

She looked into his eyes. “I…I still don’t.” She smiled. “I like it.”

He smiled. “Good.”

“What are you guys doing here?”

“You asked us to analyze the DNA off the arrow that killed Sara,” Caitlin said to her with a smile.

“I was just going to mail you the sample.”

“We had some vacation days coming--” Caitlin explained.

“We want to see the Arrow cave,” Cisco insisted.

“We didn’t,” Grace said holding her hands up. “In fact, I was told that you forgot something.”

“And I’m here for SGD,” he explained. “I’m looking into some charity stuff.”

“SGD?” Cisco asked.

Felicity looked up at him then at Cisco. “Well first, we don't call it that. Ever. And second, what’s SGD? I feel like I’ve heard of it.”

“Stephens Global Dynamics,” Carter clarified.

“Oh! You own, SGD!” she said. “I didn’t even…wow…cool.”

Cisco smirked. “I want to see the toys! I need to see the toys.” He smiled now. “Do you guys have an Arrowmobile?”

Grace chuckled, shaking her head.

* * *

“Oliver, Roy, this is Dr. Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, Grace Allen aka Gaia and Dr. Carter Stephens of Stephens Global Dynamics.”

Roy nodded. “I don’t know why I needed to know all of that but hi.” He held out a hand to Grace. “I’m Roy Harper aka Arsenal.” He smiled. “Why do they call you Gaia?”

She smiled. She looked at everyone and then hopped up. She hovered. “I control all of the Earth’s elements and some of the sub-elements. Showing you I can fly is the safest one in here.”

Roy nodded. “Nice.”

“Don’t touch that,” Oliver told Cisco as he attempted to touch one of the arrows. “Or that. It's a jettisoning arrow. Uses compressed CO2--”

“Compressed CO2 to jettison high tensile strength polymer cables.”

“Yep.”

“Since when did we start selling admission the the Arrow cave?”

“It's...do you see what you've done?” Oliver said to Felicity.

Grace sighed as Cisco hurried over to his suit. “Incredible. I have so many ideas for improvements.” He saw the red one. “And this. Oh, oh, man! This--this is the bomb. And I mean, red is so much cooler than green, am I right?”

Grace rolled her eyes. “Aww, hell.” She looked at Oliver. “I apologize, Oliver.”

“Hmm. I am really starting to like this guy.”

Oliver smiled at her. “It’s okay, Grace.”

Caitlin pointed upward. “Hey, what's that for?”

Felicity sighed. “Distracting from my work.”

“That’s a salmon ladder, right?” Carter asked.

“Yeah,” Oliver said. “Ever seen one?”

“I have actually. When I was in Japan a couple of years ago.”

“What does it do?” Grace asked.

“It works your core,” Carter explained. “It works all of the muscles in your core and your arms.” He looked into her eyes. “It’s not easy.”

Roy looked at her. “I can’t do it. I think Oliver’s the only one who can.”

“Sara could,” Felicity replied.

Oliver nodded. “She could.” He looked at Grace. “Wanna try it, without your powers?”

She shook her head. “No. I can’t even effectively punch you without putting my powers into it. There is no way I could do that.”

“So, where’s Mr. Diggle?”

“He’s running down a lead.”

Grace watched Cisco poke himself with the end of an arrow. “You break it, _you_ buy it, _Hombre_.”

Cisco smirked. “Nice, Babe.”

“Babe?” Roy asked. “You’re together?”

She nodded. “We’ve known each other for almost a year in about a week or so and it’ll be a year together in February.”

He nodded. “Cool. So how long have you and Dr. Steph--”

“Carter,” he clarified. “Dr. Stephens is only for business associates.” He smiled. “Not friends.”

“Okay, then. How long have you known each other? You and Grace?”

“Eighteen years as of this September,” he answered. “We’ve known each other since Mrs. Ferris’ Kindergarten class.”

She nodded. “Yep. He was the only boy in the class that let me sit by him because you know girls have cooties.”

Oliver smirked. “I heard that.” His smile widened. “I have yet to catch it.” His phone vibrated and he walked over and picked it up. “Diggle.”

“We have a bit of a situation here. Our man's at A.R.G.U.S. Lyla's here. Oliver, this guy? He's the real deal.”

Oliver hung up. “Our target is storming A.R.G.U.S. and Lyla is there.”

“Mm-hmm. Bad ass,” Cisco said excitedly as Arrow and Arsenal grabbed their bows. “So cool!”

“It'll be over by the time they get there.”

Carter looked at Grace. “As the other half of Team Flash, what do you wanna do, G?”

She looked at Caitlin. “Call Barry.” She spun really fast. “Tell him I’ll hold it down until he gets here, but do not leave me hanging.” She snapped her mask in place and squeezed Carter’s hand. She kissed Cisco. “Act cool. I mean it.”

She flew out of the bunker and got to ARGUS quicker than the team had. She landed. She watched as the man used his boomerang and took out the guns. “Hey, Aussie.”

He turned. He threw the boomerang and she threw up her hand and it halted in mid-air. She let it come to her and she melted it in her hand. She smirked. “Try again, Down Under.”

He began throwing numerous boomerangs at her and she ceased the air in the room and they dropped. She smirked harder. As the boomerang guy fought Gaia, Arrow and Arsenal showed up. He fought them. As the man threw boomerangs at Oliver, he turned to Grace and began fighting her. The Flash caught the boomerangs meant for Oliver. Grace kicked him hard, using air pressure behind her kick. “Hey, Flash, welcome, Big Brother.”

The man disappeared after Flash showed up. Gaia looked at Arrow and Arsenal. “I’ll leave you to your job.”

“Gaia.”

She turned, smiling. “You’re welcome.”

* * *

Back at the Bunker, Barry was doing the ladder with his speed and going up and down the ladder. Caitlin, Grace, Carter and Felicity watched. “How often does Oliver do this?”

“At least every Wednesday.”

Barry stopped. “I don’t see what’s so hard about that.” He handed the metal bar to Cisco.

Grace smirked and put her hands on her hips. Cisco walked up to the ladder. “Okay, Flash can do it, but could Barry Allen?”

“I am the Flash, Kiddo.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” She watched her boyfriend, “Hon, do you really think you should do that?”

“It’s not that hard,” he said. He adjusted the bar and began doing a chin-up or attempting. He gave up and jumped down.

Grace snickered. “You’re still cute, Sweetheart.”

Barry sped off to get sushi. Grace yelled, “Get me some too!”

Carter laughed. “Do you think he heard you?”

She shrugged. “We’ll find out when he comes back.”

Cisco looked at Carter. “Wanna try?”

He shrugged. “Sure. I haven’t done chin ups since college, but…” He took the bar from him and positioned it. He pulled himself up easily and tried again. After a few more he started attempting the moving up the ladder.

“Oh, my God…” Grace muttered as she watched his back muscles work even through his shirt. She knew she should look away, but…she couldn’t.

“Damn,” Felicity muttered.

Grace sat in another chair and watched. He got about halfway up when Oliver, Roy, Dig and Lyla came down. Barry sped back in. “Here, Kiddo. Got you some.”

Her eyes didn’t leave Carter until he stopped and hopped down. She quickly stood and grabbed her sampler of sushi. “Thanks, B.”

“Hey! Secret identity?”

“They're married.”

Dig and Lyla said in unison, “We're not married.”

“Or together. Whatever. He told her about me.”

Dig shook his head.

“You didn't?”

“I keep secrets for a living, man.”

“Ah. My bad.”

“You're--you're--”

“The Flash. Sushi?” He held out the tray.

She shook her head.

“We need a location on the man who's after Lyla. His name is Digger Harkness.”

“The first step is to work the evidence--”

“Barry, can I speak to you for a moment, please?” They walked away to talk alone. “I appreciate your help back at A.R.G.U.S., but we have this handled.”

“You don't want to team up again?”

“Starling City is meaner.”

“I seem to remember helping you pretty good last year, and that was without powers. I've been practicing everything you taught me. I'm--I'm casing new environments; I'm not running in blind.”

He sighed. “We do this my way.”

“Yes! This is going to be awesome. Ok, what's our first move?”

“ We need to reassemble the evidence. It will take some time, but it'll--”

Barry quickly reassembled the boomerangs.

“But it'll be worth it.”

Cisco dove right in. He looked at Carter. “Is it traceable?”

Carter blinked in surprise.

“Oh, wait. Markos.”

“Who?”

“You see this collapsible node design? Dead giveaway. That's his signature. We need a location on this…”

“Klaus Marcos.”

Felicity punched at the keys. “No known home address or place of employment for Marcos. But he was arrested last year by an officer Quentin Lance.”

* * *

They went to the Bravta Cybercrime unit location. Oliver looked at Grace. “Aerial if you would please.”

She smirked. “Invisible or no invisible?”

“You can go invisible?” Roy asked.

She nodded. She smiled. “Merging with my environment.”

“Well, if you’re asking for my opinion, I say yes.”

She laughed. “Thanks, CJ. I appreciate your opinion.” She flew into the air and they watched as she wasn’t seen anymore.

“Where’d she go?”

“She’s still there,” Flash told them. “Go, G.”

He looked at Dig. “Ground.”

However, before they could implement Oliver’s plan, Barry had tied up all the guys outside. They went in and Markos tried to run. Flash stopped him. Gaia walked in with Arrow. “You made this for Digger Harkness. I want to know where he is.”

“Go to hell.”

Arrow shot an arrow into the man’s shoulder. “The only thing that hurts worse than an arrow going in is an arrow coming out!” He pulled it out. The man screamed in pain.

“Whoa, hey, what are you doing?!”

Gaia stepped up to her brother and put a hand to his chest.

“Getting information! Where is he?!”

“I don't know!”

“He said he doesn't know!”

“Flash!”

“He's lying. If you want to be able to raise your arm again, tell me where he is!”

“Here! Harkness gave it to me. It's encrypted. I had an order ready for him. I called, he came. I don't know where he is, I swear. I swear!”

Barry dropped off Markos with Lance and came back. Arrow turned to them both. “Felicity can crack the encryption. Use this to track down Harkness.”

“You tortured that guy.”

“I interrogated him.”

“When my friend said your tactics made you a criminal, I defended you because I thought you were supposed to be a hero. I thought we were supposed to be better than them.”

“Barry...you live in Central City, where it's sunny all the time and your enemies get cute nicknames. You're not in Central City.”

“Yeah.”

“I live in a city where my best friend was murdered, where a woman that I loved was shot full of arrows and sent tumbling off of a rooftop. Where my mother was murdered right in front of me. So before you--”

“My mother was murdered in front of me, too.

“The difference is, Bartholomew, that the level of trauma’s he gone through.”

“What?”

“It’s back to back to back. All of his tragedies have taught him a lesson.” She looked at him. “All he’s ever had to think about is survival. That’s all he’s had for five years on that island and the three years here. It’s all he knows. Now, as for us. We’ve had people. Joe, iris, Carter and his family to lean on in our tragic childhood so before you lecture Oliver on his reasoning for his methods try and see things from his perspective?”

“From his perspective?”

“Did I say I was finished?”

He fell quiet. She nodded. “Didn’t think so.” She put her hands on her hips. “Look, all you have to do is look around here and Central City and know that the two places are vastly different. His methods work here because it’s the only thing the criminals understand. While, in Central City, the metas are still confused as to why they were transformed in the way that they have been.”

“What’s your point?”

“My point is, unlike us, Barry, Oliver doesn't have superpowers to pull himself out of a mistake he makes in the field. That's why information gathering is his strong suit even if the methods are ugly in this city no second should be wasted when it comes to stopping someone or a disaster from killing innocent people.” She pulled her brother to look her in the eye. “Now, you may not agree with his methods of doing things, but we’re in his City, helping him so we do it his way. When he’s in Central City, he can do it ours.” She stared firmly into his eyes. “Am I clear?”

He nodded. She nodded. “Good. Now go.”

Oliver sighed. “Wow. You’re his younger sister?”

She nodded. “I am, but I’m also the only family he’s got and he hates it when I get mad.” She smirked. “I may sometimes use crying to get my way.”

He laughed. “Nice. See you back at the Bunker.”

*************************

“I got him. He's in a warehouse at the corner of Infantino and Adams.”

“Is that--”

“A.R.G.U.S. spy satellite? Yeah. Maybe. Thermographic imaging shows ten bodies inside.”

“Harkness knows we're coming.”

Cisco held up his phone. “I can track the cell phone's position with this.”

“Cisco, you're with Diggle and Roy. Grace--”

“Not to take over, but I’m staying here. Call it an intuition, but if it’s a trap then he’s going to head here and when he does…” she looked at him. “One of these people is one of the most important people in my life…I can’t lose him.” She glanced at Cisco. “Caitlin’s my friend. And Lyla and Felicity are important to both of you. So, let me stay here.”

Oliver nodded, smiling. “You had me at intuition, Blue eyes.”

She smiled. “Be careful.” She looked at Cisco. “Don’t get dead.”

He nodded.

Markos’ phone began ringing. “I swear I turned that off.”

“What?”

“Markos’ phone,” Carter told her. He looked at everyone. “We have to leave, now.”

A boomerang came flying at them and stuck in the computer table. Lyla and he went back and forth. Grace stood between them. She glared at him. “Hey, Down Under, how’s it going?”

He threw a boomerang at her and she caught it in her hands. She tossed it back at him. They went back and forth like that for awhile. He threw another boomerang and it went into Grace’s leg. She screamed in pain and fell. That’s when Harkness threw another boomerang and it hit Lyla in the chest.

“Grace!”

She pushed herself up. “I’m okay, CJ.” She slid to Lyla. “Felicity, stop the bleeding.”

“I need Lidocaine,” Caitlin said.

“We only have epinephrine!”

“That'll work.”

“Carter, call Barry back!”

“Barry, guys, we need you back here.”

They came back and Barry rushed Lyla to the hospital. Carter turned to Grace. “Get on the table.”

“Carter, I’m--”

“I said get on the table.”

“Whoa, dude, lay off,” Cisco said.

Caitlin shook her head. “No, Cisco.”

She hopped up on the table. Cisco gasped. “Oh, God…Babe…”

Carter laid her back and looked at Oliver. “Will you please pull it?”

He nodded. He looked at Grace. “It’s gonna hurt, Sweetheart.”

She nodded. She gripped Carter’s hand. She closed her eyes. “Go ahead.”

“Grace, look at me.” She opened her eyes and looked at Carter. He smiled. “Don’t look away. Whatever you do.”

Oliver counted to 3 and then pulled. Grace screamed, but her eyes didn’t leave Carter’s. Cisco walked to her and put his forehead to hers. “I love you.”

“Sonofabitch!” she exclaimed. “That fucking hurts!”

Felicity looked at Caitlin. “Do we need to sew her up or something?”

She shook her head. “Wouldn’t help. She’d heal too fast. She needs her hydra-tank and about four hours.”

“Water heals her?” Roy asked.

Caitlin nodded. “It’s the most incredible thing.”

Barry came back and Grace was crying. “What happened?”

“Boomerang hit her with one and it was in her thigh,” Caitlin explained. “Oliver pulled it out.”

“Oh, God…” he murmured. He helped her to sit up. He looked at Felicity. “Get me some bottled water, please?”

She nodded. She stood and walked to the fridge. She pulled out some water. She brought it back. “You gonna heal her?”

He nodded. He twisted the cap off and looked at both Cisco and Carter. “Hold her hand. It might hurt at first.” He looked into her matching blue eyes. “I love you.”

She nodded. “Just make it stop hurting.”

He nodded. He started pouring the water on her leg and she hissed. “Sing to me.”

“What?”

“Sing to me.”

_I see the lights are shining_

_Against the winter sky_

_Above the rooftops_

_Reindeer are flying_

_Bells ringing through the night_

_Look outside_

_There's a sleigh ride_

_A choir begins to sing_

_Stars gleaming_

_Kids are dreaming_

_Of what the day will bring_

_In the fallen snow under the mistletoe_

_I need you here with me when I hold you close_

_Baby, take my hand in wonderland_

_'Cause it's Merry Christmas time again_

_It's Christmas time again_

_A wreath on every front door_

_Lights hung for all to see_

_Warm cider by the fire_

_Stockings for you and me_

_Kids plant a gift for Santa_

_Milk and cookies by the tree_

_I'm wondering what will he bring_

_This year on Christmas eve_

_In the fallen snow under the mistletoe_

_I need you here with me when I hold you close_

_Baby, take my hand in wonderland_

_'Cause its Merry Christmas time again_

As she sang, he poured the water on her leg and then after a few minutes he said, “Okay, Kiddo, I’m all done.” He kissed her forehead. “I love you.”

She smiled. “I love you.” Her smile widened. “You remembered what mom used to do when I’d hurt myself.”

He nodded. “I wasn’t sure if it would work still, but…”

* * *

The teams worked together to take down Captain Boomerang, while Grace stayed in the Bunker nursing her leg with Carter. When they came back she was hovering on her back, relaxing. “What I wouldn’t give for my hydra-tank right now.”

Roy smiled. “It’s kinda creepy that you can do that.”

She smiled. She pointed. “Imagine how he felt the first time he spent the night with me and I hadn’t been able to control it yet.”

Cisco smiled. “Freaked me out.”

She laughed. “Thought he was going to break up with me then and there.”

“That’d be stupid,” Carter told her. “You couldn’t control it.”

Roy looked at Cisco. “Is she aware that you check out other women?”

“I’m aware,” she said sitting up. “And we’ve had numerous discussions about it. Let me guess, you met Thea Queen, former party girl extreme?”

He nodded. Roy looked at her. “When I was with Thea she wouldn’t have tolerated it.”

“No one says I do,” she said. “However, I also know that the men I seem to pick can’t seem to control it.”

Oliver smiled. “Then you’re picking the wrong men.” He glanced at Cisco. “Remember what I said.” He pointed at Grace. “Center of your universe right here.”

He nodded. “Right.”

Grace lowered herself. “I’m ready to go home.” She kissed Oliver’s cheek. “Great to see you again and I’m so glad I didn’t have to hit you this time.”

He laughed. “Me too. If you need anything, Grace, call us.”

She nodded. “I will.” She hugged Felicity and Roy. She smiled at him. “You’re a pretty cool, dude. Next time, we’ll have to go out drinking together.”

He smiled. “You’re on, Blue.”

Team Flash left, leaving Barry behind to deal with some unfinished business with Oliver.


	15. The Man in the Yellow Suit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carter comes home for Christmas...and confesses how he truly feels.
> 
> Barry and Grace find out that the Man in Yellow actually exists and he's back!
> 
> And Grace is true herself...and to the 2 men in her life.

****

**-5 Days Before…**

Grace paced the terminal where Carter said he’d be stepping off of his private jet from. It’d been 2 weeks since they last saw each other and a lot had developed within that time. They were in constant contact, not just because that’s the way they had always been, but for business purposes also. Plus, she was overseeing the renovations on his master bedroom.

Cisco and Grace hadn’t seen a lot of each other. At the moment they felt more like roommates. Actually, ever since they had come back from Starling they had felt more like roommates. She’d been wondering what had changed within that time. Despite the fact she and Cisco had been distant, she’d been thinking about what had happened with Barry when he’d been whammied too. His informing her that Carter had been in love with her for the last 10 years had surprised her.

For years she had always thought that the feelings were one-sided. That they were only coming from her. She didn’t think she’d ever get to the day where Carter had felt the same way. That’s why she had moved on with someone else, because if she couldn’t have the one that was perfect for her then she’d try to find another form of perfection.

However, she believed that she needed to take time for herself too. If her and Carter were to ever get together romantically she would hate for them to break up or have a real rocky road because she hadn’t gotten her head on straight with anything. But would he wait that long? Would he wait until she had her life sorted out to even think about something with him?

Carter stepped into the airport and smiled when he saw Grace, his heart hitching at the sight of her. As he walked to her he realized she was pacing, which meant she was worried about something. He watched her. “Hey, Gracie.”

Grace stopped and her heart swelled in her chest. She smiled, her eyes filling with tears. “Carter.” She ran to him wrapping her arms around his neck. She held on tight. “God, I missed you.”

He laughed. “It’s only been about two weeks, Angel.”

“I know, but…” she sighed. “Still.” She looped her arm through his as they walked out. He had already been giving his luggage when he got off of the plane. He had asked the attendant to wait at the entrance/exit for him and Grace. They walked to her brand new car and the attendant loaded the suitcases into the trunk.

* * *

They talked about small talk for a little while and then Grace pulled off into their favorite places. Look Out Point in the park. She sighed. “There’s something I have to ask you. Something that’s been racing through my head, distracting me, since I heard it.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“What Barry said to me when Bivolo whammied him, about you having been in love with me for ten years, was it true?”

He was waiting for this to be brought up. He looked into her eyes and knew he could lie to her, but he also knew they have never lied to each other and he didn’t want to lie to her. “Yes. It’s true.”

She looked into his eyes and her heart hammered hard in her chest. “So, you’re in love with me? Like, right now?”

He nodded. “Even more so than when Barry told you actually.” He sighed. “I wish he hadn’t told you.”

“You didn’t want me to know?”

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, Grace, it’s not that I didn’t want you to know it’s that it’s hard. It’s hard because you’re with Cisco and you love him, you’re trying to make things work and truthfully I don’t want to be branded with being the one that broke you guys up.” He moved closer to her. “And if he makes you happy then I won’t stand in the way of that. I want you happy.” He reached out hesitantly, and then caressed her cheek.

He sighed again and pressed his forehead to hers. “But yes, it’s true. I’m in love with you. From the depth of my soul and beyond. I would love nothing more than the opportunity to show you how every one of those guys--Cisco included--should have treated you. Because to me you’re everything. You mean more to me than my own life and all I’ve ever wanted is a chance.”

He exhaled. “The reason why I left Central City was because it hurt me to see you with someone else. It hurts to see someone else where I want to be. It hurts to see someone treat you the way that they have and know that I could do a helluva lot better.” He sighed. “I just hurts, Gracie…”

She looked into his eyes. “Oh, Carter. That’s the last thing I would ever want is to hurt you.” She sniffled. “You mean everything to me too. Barry was right when he’s always called you my rock. You are, but God, you’re so much more than that. You’re my strength. I know for sure with you by my side that I can accomplish anything and with you cheering me on it makes me feel amazing.”

She took a breath and blurted, “I love you too, Carter. I always have, but…we’ve always had the worst timing in the world…” she looked into his eyes and saw the sadness there. “…if I wasn’t with Cisco I would be encouraging you to sweep me off my feet. But I owe it to myself and to Cisco to see how this all plays out.” She looked into his eyes again. “You should know too, that if we break up, I can’t just jump into something with you.”

She took a breath. “I owe it to myself to get myself straight before I jump into something that I believe could be my forever.” She looked into his eyes. “Is this making any sense?”

He smiled and kissed her cheek. “More than you know.” He caressed his thumbs over her cheeks. “I will give you that time to learn one way or another. But know that I will always be your friend. Nothing will ever change that, ever. I would never pressure you into anything with me until you were ready.”

She smiled. “Good.” She smiled at him. “Let’s get you home.”

* * *

**-Present day…**

Not much had changed since their love confessions. Not that Carter ever expected it would. Grace was right, they have the worst timing in the world. He knew that Grace would want to know her future with something she started before anything else. However if he goes by what Joe had told him a few nights ago, then Cisco and Grace wouldn’t be together for much longer. Joe didn’t see them together much longer, not because of his and Grace’s love confessions, but because either Grace or Cisco is going to have a self-evaluation figured out and end it.

Not that he would be ever hoping for something like that because he’d never do that to Gracie. Whether she knew it or believed it she was the center of his universe. If she was happy then by God he was going to be happy for her. That was just the way he was.

He was currently sitting in the West living room while his parents were at home wrapping his and Grace’s presents, helping them decorate their tree and the house. “Hey, Gracie, will you help me pick out a tree and buy some decorations and stuff later?”

She nodded. “Absolutely. Say when and I’m so there.” She sighed. “I’ve also gotta figure out what in the hell to get Cisco’s parents. What the hell do you get two people that in my opinion don’t deserve a present from the girlfriend of the son that they all but ignore?”

Joe smiled. “A gift card to the fanciest restaurant in town.” He shrugged. “That way you can slip it into a card and thank them for inviting you.”

She laughed. “Good idea. I like it.” She looked at Carter. “Your mom had me help her pick out your gift.”

He smiled. “Then it should be perfect.” He lifted a brow toward Barry who looked bored as hell. “Dude, cheer up. It’s like the happiest holiday in the world.”

“Thought that was Valentine’s day.”

Grace shook her head. “No. Valentine’s day is the horniest and the most desperate of the holidays. While Christmas is the most romantic.”

“Is that your idea or actual fact?” Joe asked.

She smiled. “My analyze of it. I mean think about it between the winter months of mid-November to February the most pregnancies happen. While the most proposals happen between Christmas and Valentine’s day.”

“Okay, Freud,” Barry said. “If you had your choice--your dream guy is with you--when would you want to be proposed to?”

“Um…Christmas or our anniversary. Or thinking in terms of Team Flash if something with the Team happened that put things into perspective. And I wouldn’t want to have children for a few years after being married. I mean, I’m only twenty-three. I have what twenty good reproductive years left.”

“There’s a time clock for that?”

She nodded. “Forty-three is my personal cut off before I decide that it’s too risky not only to me but the baby.”

Joe nodded. “Good to know.”

Barry smiled. “You still want four?”

“At least,” she confirmed. She shrugged. “I always thought I’d be a good mom.” She sighed. “However, babies might not be in my future for a very long time.”

Carter smiled as he picked up another decoration. “That’d be a damn shame, because any child would be proud to have you as their mother, Grace Allen.”

Grace felt her cheeks heat almost instantly. “Thank you.” She cleared her throat. “I’m going to go see if Iris needs help.” She stood and walked into the kitchen.

Barry chuckled. “Smooth, man. It takes a lot to get Gracie to blush. I don’t even think Cisco has achieved that.”

Joe smiled. “How are things with you and Grace since your conversation?”

“Um…we’re good. I thought it would be a little awkward, but it really hasn’t been. I mean I have to catch myself sometimes to remember that just because she said she loves me doesn’t mean I can…”

Barry nodded. “I could see that.”

Joe smiled. “Well, you’re doing well, man. I don’t know if I could be so cool about it all like you.”

He smiled. “That’s easy. I just want Gracie happy. If that’s with me or Cisco that’s all I care about.”

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Iris looked at Grace and said, “Hey, grab me the bourbon please?”

She nodded. “Absolutely.”

“How’s your Christmas shopping going?”

She nodded. “I got all the important people already. You, dad, Barry, Mike, Angie, Carter and Cisco. Cisco’s parents were a little problematic, but I think I figured it out, thanks to dad.”

She smiled. “May I make an observation?”

She nodded. “Sure.”

“You don’t seem to be excited to meet his parents for the first time.”

She sighed. “I know this is a huge step…meeting the parents and everything, but after everything Cisco has told me about them I’m really not looking forward to it.”

She nodded. “I could see that. However, can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything,” she said as she opened a cupboard and pulled down a small drinking glass. She put an inch of the bourbon into the glass and sipped.

“Are you okay with Carter being in love with you and everything? I mean, it’s not weird?”

She shook her head. “Not weird at all. In fact, it’s good. Really good. We know where each other stands.” She exhaled. “You know if he had told me this last years I would have jumped all over being with him, but I feel like I need to figure out where Cisco and I are going to go before even remotely think of what I need to do about me and Carter.”

“Makes sense. And I know you know we’ll support you either way, but honey, you and Carter love each other and your friendship so strong I think if you just open yourself up a little bit then you’d have that relationship you’ve been looking for.”

She nodded. “When I’m single we promised to discuss it again. Until then we’re good.”

They walked out of the kitchen and saw them still decorating. “Uh, these ornaments are not gonna hang themselves.”

“Mm-hmm,” Barry hummed.

Iris passed out the cups to Barry and Joe as she said, “Grandma Esther's recipe...light on the bourbon.”

Grace handed one to Carter and sat on the arm of the chair he was sitting in. He put an arm around to her back and they both sipped.

“Mmm.” Joe hummed as his phone rang. “I always loved her definition of light.” He answered his phone. It was the district attorney. He left soon after the call telling all 4 kids to leave him some nog for when he gets back.

“No promises,” Barry muttered into his cup.

Iris turned off the TV and started pulling Barry to his feet when he said, “What's happening? Hey.” She pulled him to the floor. “Come on. Oh, come on, we're doing this already? Christmas isn't for a few days.”

“I couldn't wait any longer.” She handed him her present from him. “Oh, wait, me first,” she snatched it back.

“Okay.”

She opened it as Grace and Carter sat on the floor. It was their own little tradition to open one present just the four of them. She looked into the box and gasped. “My mother's wedding band?”

“A replica, yeah. You were devastated when you lost the real one.”

“Our fifth-grade field trip…”

They finished in unison, “To the zoo.”

“You cried for weeks.” He offered to help put it. She turned. “You remembered.”

“Yeah.”

She chuckled.

He tapped his temple. “Steel trap.”

She turned to him. “I don't know what to say.” She hugged him. “My gift so sucks in comparison...way.”

“No.” He ripped open the paper and saw that it was a microscope.

“It's supposed to be the best one on the market,” she explained. “I thought you could maybe use a new one. It's lame, I know.”

“No, no, this is great. I love it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Grace smiled. “Iris, you’ll have to wait for mine on Christmas Eve.” She looked at her brother. “But I want you to open mine to you, okay?”

He nodded. “Okay.”

She smiled and stood and walked to the tree and picked up one of the green shiny wrapped gifts. She walked over to him. “I made two copies.” She smiled.

He quickly unwrapped the gift and his heart stopped beating for a second. It was of a young Barry, Grace and their mom and dad. He smiled. “Oh, Gracie…”

“What is it?” Iris asked.

He flipped it around and showed both Iris and Carter. He looked at Grace. “Is this the last…”

She nodded. “The last Christmas before…”

He smiled. “Oh, Gracie…” he hugged her. “Thank you, Kiddo. I love it.”

She smiled. “Good.” She handed Carter’s to him. “It has a card inside, so please read it.”

He nodded. He opened it and saw the ceramic ornament with two pictures--when they first met at 5 years old and the first Christmas they started spending together. He smiled. “Thank you.” He pulled the card out and read:

****You are my best friend** **

****My human diary** **

****You mean the world to me.** **

****I love you** **

****

He smiled. “Thank you.” He hugged her and whispered into her neck, “I love you.” He handed her the gift he got her.

She tore open the paper and opened the box. She saw the silver chain and small solid circle. Etched in black is compass directions with the words: I’d be lost without you written on the card. She smiled at him. “I love it, thank you.”

Grace’s phone buzzed and she stood. She saw the text message:

****Can’t make it. Sorry, Baby.** **

****I love you** **

“What is it?” Eddie asked.

She exhaled. “Cisco can’t make it.”

Barry’s brow furrowed. “That’s weird. He was looking forward to this yesterday.”

She shrugged. “He bailed on a date with me the other night too.”

Carter smiled. “I’m sorry, but my mom wanted to know if you were still coming to our Christmas Eve dinner that we throw for everyone.”

She nodded. “Of course. I haven’t missed one since they started the tradition of us going over there on Christmas Eve and them coming over here on Christmas.”

* * *

Grace and Barry went to STAR Labs to hand out their gifts. Barry handed them his gift. Then Grace did hers. She looked at Cisco and smiled. “Seemed like you.”

He smiled and opened it. It was a signed poster of the Wrath of Khan Star Trek movie. He laughed and kissed her. “Thanks, baby.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Just a small token of our gratitude…” Barry said.

“Aw.”

“For everything you guys have done for us this year.”

“I think I speak on behalf of my colleagues when I say you've been a gift for us, Barry.”

“What's that?”

“This is compliments of Iris... Grandma Esther's famous eggnog.”

Cisco pointed. “That's what I'm talking about.”

“Maybe later for me. Wouldn't want to drink and drive,” Wells said as he wheeled away.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” Caitlin murmured.

“No, man. He, um... this used to be his favorite time of year, but the accident happened before Christmas, so...kind of ruined the holidays.”

“I'm gonna go get him a present. Maybe that'll cheer him up.”

Grace smiled. “I’ll walk out with you.”

“You’re not staying, Babe?”

She shook her head. “Can’t. I promised Angie that I’d help her shop for Christmas Eve dinner.”

Caitlin looked at Barry and Iris. “Thank you very much.”

“Yeah.”

“Absolutely,” Grace told her. “You deserve it.”

Grace walked up to her brother and kissed his cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you, Kiddo.”

She kissed Cisco’s cheek. “See you at home.”

Barry turned to him. “So what are you doing for Christmas, Cisco?”

Cisco smiled. “You guys really do spend the holidays with Carter’s family, huh?”

He nodded. “We’ve been doing it since Grace was ten I think. So about thirteen years now.” He tilted his head slightly. “Why?”

“I’m just realizing you do a lot with Mr. and Mrs. Stephens.”

He nodded. “It’s Doctor and Mrs. Stephens. He works at Central City Memorial Hospital. Just so you know.” He looked at his friend. “Is that a problem? Angie helped take care of Iris, me and Grace when Joe had to work late nights.”

“No not really. I just didn’t know how intertwined your lives were.”

He shrugged. “It’s been that way for awhile. Just never really thought about it.” He looked at his friend. “I thought you were coming today. You were so psyched about it.”

He nodded. “I know, but I’ve been thinking about what Oliver said while he was here and we were there. That if I couldn’t treat her like the center of my world then maybe I should let her go and let someone else.” He shrugged. “It got me thinking as to why I’ve been closed off and everything. So, I’m trying to sort it out.”

“But bailing on Grace?” He looked at him. “I don’t even do that, Man.” He sighed. “I know Gracie doesn’t show it but she’s really sensitive. You may want to tread lightly around figuring this out but don’t hurt her either.”

Cisco nodded. “Right.

* * *

Later that day, Barry called to a crime scene. Joe walked into the crime scene area after talking to some of the workers. “Hey. What are you thinking?”

Barry stood and answered, “The blood splatter patterns and trajectory of the remains...only a high-speed collision could have done this. But to cause this type of damage to a human in this space? Whatever hit them would have to have been moving fast.”

Eddie approached. “Get this. The witness says all he saw was a blur. Sound familiar?”

Joe and Barry eyed each other and they walked to the witness. “You saw a blur? W...what was it?”

“Whatever it was, it was looking for something.”

“Well, what did it look like?”

Barry’s heart thudded against his ribs. “Like a-a man in some kind of yellow suit.”

“Okay.” He turned and started walking. “I gotta call Grace.”

Joe stopped him. “Barry, listen…”

“I have to check my files. Joe, you heard him, all right? The man that killed my mom... he's back.”

“I know. He's been in town for a few weeks now. He paid a visit to me at the house. He took all the evidence from your mom's case. The files are gone. Carter and Grace have known too.”

“Why wouldn't either of you tell me this sooner?”

“We couldn't.”

“Why?”

“Because he threatened to kill Iris.”

* * *

Grace rushed into the Cortex. She ran to her brother. “Don’t be mad, please!”

He shook his head. “Hey, hey. It’s okay. I’m not mad.” He exhaled. “I was, but then Joe told me why you did.” He hugged her. “I’m not mad.”

She sighed. She looked at Joe. “So, we’re absolutely positive that it’s mommy’s killer?”

He nodded. “Yeah, Baby. He’s back.” Joe looked at everyone. “The witness described seeing a yellow blur just like the one that killed Barry's mother.”

“Then we need to get cracking and stop this speed psycho. That... I wasn't trying to give him a name.”

Grace began to wring her fingers.

“The crime scene at Mercury Labs was on a floor with highly secured vaults, and the witness said he was looking for something.”

“Whatever it was, he wanted it badly enough to kill for it,” Wells answered.

“Doctor, what do you know about this Mercury Labs?” Joe asked.

Grace walked over to Cisco and hugged into his side.

“Mercury was one of S.T.A.R. Labs' major competitors until our little setback, and then it catapulted to the forefront led by Dr. Christina McGee, brilliant but egocentric physicist.”

“It says here Dr. McGee has secured half a billion dollars in private funding to develop, and I quote, "prototypes for the technology of the future”.”

“Well, I'll be. Tina's messing with tachyons.”

Joe looked at him curiously.

“Superluminal particles.”

“Of course. So what could someone do with one of those…”

“Tachyons.”

“Thank you.”

“Well, I don't know. Become invincible? if you could devise a matrix stable enough to harness their power, you could travel faster than light.”

“He's gonna try to get them again, so we need to get what Mercury has and use it as a lure.”

“Exactly right. Cisco, Caitlin, let's start engineering a trap.”

Cisco nodded. “You got it.” He looked at Grace. “You gonna be okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Go.”

Caitlin looked at Wells. “Of course.”

Grace turned and walked out only to stop when she seen Carter facing the wall and waving his hand over a spot. Her brow furrowed curiously. “What….are you doing?”

He turned and looked down at her. “Okay. This may so ridiculously stupid or whatever, but every time I walk past this wall…I don’t know…it’s like it’s humming.” He took her hand and Grace tried to ignore the sparks that ignited. He put her hand up and waved it back and forth. “Feel anything?”

She shook her head. “No.” She took his arm and pulled him off to the side. “Are you saying that there’s a secret room?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t know what it is. I just find it really weird that every time I walk into this hall I’m vibrating like a tuning fork.”

She looked at the wall and then at her best friend, her brows crinkling. “Huh. That is weird.” She looked up at him. “We’ll talk about it later. At your place.” She sighed. “He’s back.”

“Who is? Oliver?”

She shook her head. “No. The man that killed my mom. Not only did we see him that night he threatened Joe, but someone else saw him. He either attempted to steal something or did do it.”

“What?”

“Something to do with tachyons.”

His eyes widened. “Oh, wow…”

She nodded. “Yeah. Shit’s gotten real, CJ.”

* * *

After she got out of work that night, she looked at her text messages and saw that Cisco was informing her that he was going to be home late because he was going to help Caitlin with something. He promised to tell her about it later and left it at that. So, she walked to the precinct and into Barry’s lab. She saw Iris and Barry talking. She listened as she inched her way into the room. “I didn't know you did that,” Iris said.

Barry smiled. “I guess there's still some stuff about me you don't know.”

Both Barry and Iris turned to Grace. Iris smiled. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Grace said.

Iris eyed her. “You okay? You seem…I don’t know.”

She sighed. “I’m drained. Long day.”

She nodded. “Eddie asked me to move in with him. I said yes.”

Grace’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Wow.” Barry chuckled in disbelief. “You guys are moving pretty fast, huh?”

“Well, I mean, it's been a year. Eddie thought you might feel weird about it.”

“Wha... I don't... why would he say that?” Barry asked trying to seem nonchalant.

“He thinks that you... Like me romantically. I mean, honestly, it sounds even silly suggesting it.”

“Um... I mean, Eddie's wrong. I... and if I've seemed weird before, it's just that this year has gone by really fast, and I guess I didn't realize how far along in your relationship you guys were.”

“That’s actually a thing,” Grace told her. “I read about it. Plus, when I woke up from mine I felt like I was playing catch up.” She shook her head. “He was out for nine months. That’s most of your relationship, so to him he probably feels like he’s eternally playing catch up to keep up with all the changes.”

A few minutes later, Iris left and Grace took her jacket off and draped it over another chair. She sat down. “Bar, I’ve been running that night in my head. Like over and over again.” She pushed herself to standing and walked to the window. “You know I was locked in my room that night. I didn’t even see what you saw. I do remember seeing something though.” Her eyes stayed on the window.

“What did you see?”

“This like weird…” she gasped as the thunder clashed in the sky. “Barry…l-l-l-look!”

He looked up and saw the man in yellow. He looked at his sister. “Stay here--”

“To hell I will!” she said. “I’m coming with you.” She fazed through the glass and he sped off.

They caught up to the man in Yellow and stood off with him. “It was you. You were the one in our house that night. You killed my mother!”

“Why?” Grace asked.

The Yellow Man said, “If you want to know that, you're gonna have to catch me.”

Barry sped off, leaving Grace in his dust.

Grace had found Barry and the mysterious man in yellow to the stadium and flew inside. She landed next to her brother only to be punched in the gut and sent flying backwards. Barry turned and watched, but instead of her flying backwards and slamming into the ground she seemed surf absolutely nothing. She touched the ground with her toes.

“Grace, stay back!” he told her.

“No, Barry!”

He looked at her. “Do as I tell you!”

Grace fumed as she watched it. Barry looked at the Man in Yellow. “Who are you?”

“You know who I am, Barry. Even your sister does.”

Barry looked over his shoulder at her and then said to him. “I don't know who you are.”

“But you do, Barry. The three of us have been at this a long time, but I'm always one step ahead.” He slammed Barry into the ground. “It is your destiny to lose to me, Flash, just as it was your mother's destiny to die that night.”

Grace clapped her hands and the Earth beneath them shook. The Man in Yellow left. Barry stood and she glared at him. She then flew off.

* * *

When Barry walked into the Lab to tell them what had happened, right there in the comm room with everyone in the room, even their adoptive father, she strode up to him and punched him hard in the jaw. The force of the punch made Barry stumble a little.

“Grace Elizabeth!” Joe exclaimed.

“No!” She exclaimed. “Damn it! I have told you repeatedly I wasn’t going to play set decoration and you had me sitting on the fucking sidelines as that psycho jackass--who knew me too, by the way--kicked your damn ass!” She groaned in frustration, walking away, running her hands through her hair and then turning back to him. “We’re supposed to be partners, Barry. A team!”

“I know,” he said softly.

“Well, I’m not being a very good fucking teammate if you won’t let me help you!”

“You're my little sister--”

“Who’s not so little anymore!” she yelled. “I’m twenty-three, Barry. I’ll be twenty-four in July. I’m not a kid. I can take care of myself.” She looked at Barry, her expression softening. “You don’t have to be on full protective mode anymore, B. I have dad, Carter and now Cisco.” She walked to her brother and kissed his chin. He winced and she smiled. “Sorry.”

He smiled and hugged her. “Don’t worry about it. I forgot how good your right hook was.”

Cisco sighed. “Wow, Babe, remind me not to piss you off.”

Joe laughed. “She’s never hit one of her boyfriends. Just her brother.”

Barry moved her to his side and looked at the rest of the team. He was frustrated, that was evident. “He acted like he knew me, like we'd done this before.”

“He was antagonizing you, Bar,” Joe told him.

“Then he was trying to do it to both of us, dad.”

“What do you mean?” Cisco asked.

“He talked like the three of us had fought before. Not just Barry and him, but us three. It was weird and slightly creepy.

Barry nodded. “I would get close, and he'd just pull away. I mean, this was just some sick game to him.”

“You'll catch him. We'll help,” Wells told him.

“No, you don't get it, all right? His speed, it is... it's beyond me. I'm not the fastest man alive. He is. So how do we catch somebody that even I can't keep up with?”

Grace exhaled and looked at the rest of the team.

“The beautiful thing about force fields, Mr. Allen, is they're impervious to speed. Now, we're almost finished fabricating the trap, and all that remains is for Detective West to procure the bait.”

“I'm on it.” He turned to walk out. “Barry, why don't you stay here?”

“No, Joe, today is not the day to tell me to stay behind.”

Grace tapped her thumb on Cisco’s contact and groaned when she got his voicemail. “Damn it!” She looked at Barry. “I’m calling Carter. I…”

He shook his head. “You don’t need to explain to me, Kiddo. Just do it.”

* * *

Grace walked into the precinct lobby just as Dr. McGee walked out. She smiled at Barry and Joe. Barry walked off and Grace sighed. “Dad--”

“Hey, Joe, you got a second?”

“Not now, Eddie.”

“I read the witness statement. The Flash was there. I know you got something in the works.”

“Yeah, but you don't want any part of this.”

“Wait a second,” Grace said. “I thought that the witness said that it was a man in yellow?”

“He did,” Joe said and slid a look to Grace.

“Then it’s not Flash,” she said to Eddie. “The Flash is in a red suit--”

“He could change--”

“Why would he do that?”

“The Arrow has never changed outfits. If the Flash wears red and this guy is in yellow than I’d say, Detective, you have two different guys all together.”

“Oh, yeah?” Eddie challenged. “And what makes you say that?”

“Three years of investigative reporting and being the daughter of a detective.” She put her hands on her hips. “It’s simple deduction, Detective.”

He glared at her and she glared right back. He looked at Joe. “I've got a task force approved to capture him, and I want in. I'm not asking permission, Joe.”

“Excuse me?”

Oh, you’ve got some massive balls, Eddie.”

“If my task force isn't a part of this, I'll go to Captain Singh. I'll tell him something's going on, and you're not talking…”

Grace exhaled. “I'm sorry. You'd do the same thing if you were me.”

“Fine.” Joe walked.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You know, I never thought I’d see the day that a self-assured handsome guy who is a successful detective would be threatened by some guy that races around the city saving people’s lives.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he asked advancing on her.

She closed the gap even further. “It means, Detective, maybe you should ask yourself why you’re so hell bent on taking down a guy who others consider to be a hero.” She narrowed her eyes even further. “Is it because you think he’s an honest to God menace or is it because my sister has a crush on him and you hate the fact that she’s not fawning over you like that anymore?”

With that said, she walked out of the precinct.

* * *

Carter stood in the Cortex with everyone. Watching how they all worked together.

“The tachyon device is in place,” Cisco said gruffly.

Grace blinked at him in surprise. “Babe?”

He looked into her eyes. “Not now.”

She sighed. She looked back at her brother as he asked, “You think it'll work?”

“It'll work,” Cisco told him.

“So how do we advertise to him that the prototype's here?”

“We'll take care of that.”

“What's the problem?”

“Look, Barry... Me and Dr. Wells have spoken, and... We think it would be best if you weren't here for this.”

“You can’t do that to him!” Carter exclaimed.

“What are you talking about?”

“You're too close to this.”

“Or maybe you're not close enough. If you hadn't been too scared and warned me that he was here weeks ago, I could have been prepared for this.”

“I think we can all appreciate Joe's concern for Iris, Barry.”

“That's why I have to be here! I'm the best chance at catching this guy!”

“Not right now, not in this state.”

“This man stabbed our mother through the heart and sent our father to prison for it. This is my fight.”

“Not today, son.”

Barry walked off. Grace exhaled. “You know what? This sucks. If you were actually just freaking honest with him to begin with he wouldn’t be so pissed off.”

“So, you want me to tell him that Eddie’s after him?”

“He knows, dad!” she exclaimed. “He’s always known. The only thing he doesn’t know is that douchebag of a partner of yours is going to be at the Reverse-Flash meet up today.” She narrowed her eyes at him, her eyes blazing with blue fire. “But he will.”

Joe stopped her. “You can’t--”

“I’m not lying to him.” She jerked her arm free and flew off.

* * *

She exhaled when she walked up to the desk at Iron Heights prison and asked, “May I ask you a question please?”

“Absolutely, ma’am.”

“Is my brother--Barry Allen--here at all seeing my father, Henry?”

He scanned the sheet. “Yes, ma’am. Would you like to see him too?”

She nodded. “Could I? I know I didn’t come in with him but we’ve recently had a family--”

“Yes, ma’am.” He escorted her back and then another guard took her from his spot.

She walked into the visitation room to her brother say, “I found the man who killed mom...the man in yellow, the one in the lightning. He's out there, and I had him. He got away.” He paused and Grace walked closer.

“I... I was so close. I promised you that I would get you out of here. Every day you spend in here has been because of him…” his voice was breaking with tears and Grace put a hand to her mouth as tears flowed of her own.

“Until today. Now you're in here because of me, and I'm so sorry. I…”

Grace rushed to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She slid into another chair and looked at her brother. She wiped her tears. “It’s not your fault.” She sniffled. “I love you to the moon and back, Big brother, but you’re an idiot.”

Henry laughed softly. “Your mom would have told me the same thing.” He looked at Barry. “Your sister’s right. Barry, this is not your fault. Look at me.”

Barry looked up and Grace looked at him too.

“I know what you've given up. What you both have. Every decision you've made in the past 14 years has been because of me and your mom... what you studied, why you became a CSI, even with Iris.”

“Iris?”

“You're my son. You don't think I know how you love her? But you never pursued her because you were too consumed with what happened to me and your mom to let yourself have a life.” He smiled at Grace and then looked at Barry. “Take your sister’s cue, let it go now, Barry. Hear me now. The man in the yellow suit...has taken enough from us already. Don't let him take any more.” He smiled. “Live your life. Allow yourself to be happy. Like Gracie’s done with that scientist she’s in love with.”

Grace took a shuddery breath as she said, “Daddy’s right. You need to move on. Please.”

Henry looked at his little girl. “You too.”

“Wha…what?”

“You’ve been in love with Carter Stephens before you even knew what you were feeling. Stop being so damn scared and you both go tell them how you feel.” He looked into her eyes. “I know you’re in love with this scientist, Gracie, but maybe you should ask yourself if what you’re feeling for him is even close to what you feel for Carter.”

* * *

Awhile later, Barry and Grace walked out of the prison and Grace turned to him. “I didn’t come looking for you to visit daddy, I came looking for you to tell you why dad and Dr. Wells didn’t want you there.”

“You know?”

He nodded. “I know,” she said. “I was standing there when he announced it.”

“Announced what? Who?”

“Eddie got approval for his fucking task force, Barry. He wants to take down the Flash and he’s going to be at S.T.A.R. Labs tonight waiting for the Reverse-Flash. That’s why dad didn’t want you there. Eddie’s got orders to shoot you on sight.”

“He couldn’t even--”

“I know, but Eddie’s hellbent on capturing the Flash because of Iris’ infatuation with him. I don’t even wanna know what he’d do to you once he got his hands on you.”

Barry sighed and nodded. “So, now, what?”

“Now, you go back to the house and tell Iris how you feel.”

“What?!” Barry exclaimed. “I can’t do that.”

“Yes, you can. If I can date one of my best friends you can date yours. Go.”

* * *

With nothing else to do, Grace went to her office to work on things there. She heard the soft knock on the door and looked up. She smiled when she seen Carter standing there. “Hey.”

“Hey, I haven’t seen much of you today and I wanted to check in.”

She nodded. “I’m okay. Emotionally exhausted, but I’m okay.” She sighed. “Barry and I talked to dad.” She smiled. “He’s known this entire time that I’m in love with you.”

He nodded. “I know. My parents did too.”

She sighed. “Carter, you understand why I have to see this through, right? Between me and Cisco?”

“Yes and no,” he admitted. “Yes because you love him. But I don’t because if you love me…” he sighed. “God, I didn’t want this to sound the way it’s going to.”

She shook her head. “Just say it, Carter.”

“If you love me even as much and as deeply as I love you then I shouldn’t be that hard to figure out.” He sighed. “I know. I’m a jerk. I’m sorry.”

She stood quickly and walked over to him. “You’re not a jerk, Sweetheart. You’re not. I asked for you to be honest and you are.” She sighed. “The easiest way to explain this is to say, I fell in love with Cisco because besides you he was the first one to embrace my mind along with everything else about me.” She sighed. “He was the first guy--besides you--who saw _me_. Who thought my mind, my brains were beautiful.” She sighed. “He can make me laugh and he frustrates me at the same time.” She sighed again. “But I have to see this through because right now what I feel for you--how deep it runs…how huge it is…scares me. It scares me because it’s this all consuming feeling and if for some reason we don’t work out…I don’t know if I could recover.”

Carter opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when she got a text from Caitlin saying, S.O.S. She looked at Carter. “We gotta go. STAR Labs needs me.” They left.

******************

When she got to the lab, she saw Barry and Reverse-Flash go through the skylight, almost knocking her out of the sky. She looked below and saw Cisco and Caitlin down there. She landed next to them. “Couldn’t resist could you?”

Caitlin yelped, while Cisco smiled. “Not always.”

The two speedsters fought, but when the Reverse Flash attempted to choke Barry, Grace stepped out of the shadows. “HEY!”

“Grace!” Cisco and Caitlin exclaimed.

Her voice didn’t seem to get his attention. “Hey, Jackass, how about you pick on someone who will put up a bigger fight?”

The Reverse-Flash turned to her. “How are you going to do that, Grace?”

She took a deep breath and used her cold power and her air power and started blowing freezing cold air in the Reverse’s direction. She blew in time for Barry to get up and get a few blows into the Reverse before he let go of Barry and slammed Grace into the cement.

However instead of going down like she was supposed to, Grace seemed to of disappeared. Caitlin gasped. Cisco’s face scrunched in horror. “NO! GRACE!”

“GRACE!” Carter yelled, his heart hammering in his chest in fear.

They watched in awe as the ground seemed to rumble and shift and then something came crashing through right underneath both men. Cisco’s heart thudded in his chest in relief when he realized it was Grace. She grabbed Reverse’s legs and pulled his feet out from under him. She came out of the ground. She panted. “If you want me gone, you’re gonna have to do a lot better than that.”

She got out of the ground and punched Reverse again. Reverse stood and attempted to attack both Barry and Grace when a great plume of fire came after Reverse-Flash. He moved away and looked at Barry. “Our race is not yet done. See you soon, Flash.”

Grace moved to her brother as Cisco came up beside him and Caitlin went to Ronnie. He looked at Caitlin. “Don't look for me again.” He took off into the sky using his fire powers.

Grace sighed and looked up at her brother. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. That was pretty good, Little Sister.”

She smiled, laughing softly. “Thanks. Thank Cisco he’s the one that had us figuring out that cold stops speed, so I combined two of my powers and froze him until you could get up.” She rubbed her neck. “I just wasn’t expecting to get slammed into the ground.”

Cisco walked over to her and kissed her lips. “I gotta say, your disappearing act was kinda cool.”

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you. Would you believe me if I told you that like you I just discovered I could do that?”

Barry laughed. “Really?”

“How’d you do it?” Carter asked.

She nodded. “Yeah. I have no fucking clue. I knew being slammed into the ground was inevitable, so I closed my eyes and prepared for it, but it didn’t come. Instead I found myself in the ground and instinctively knowing what to do. It was kinda weird.”

Cisco laughed softly. “Well, I don’t care.” He kissed her again. “As long as you’re here…”

She smiled. “Right. Love you.”

“Love you too,” he said and kissed her again.

* * *

Grace walked into the precinct and looked around for Joe. She smiled at Eddie. “Um…I’m sorry.”

He smiled at her. “I’m sorry too.”

She exhaled softly. “You’re dating my sister, someone I love and adore more than anything. We need to learn to get along, but we’re gonna disagree on this, no way around it, Eddie. I think the Flash and Gaia do save this City and you’re never gonna convince me otherwise, but I may have come down on you a little too harshly.”

“Actually you didn’t. You were right. I did have an ulterior motive to take him out, but after tonight.”

She smiled. “I know. My dad told me. You okay?”

He nodded. “I am, thank you. Your dad’s upstairs talking to Barry.”

She smiled and hugged him. She started walking away and then stopped. “Eddie.” He turned. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“You’re a hero too. I know sometimes us normal people stop to thank you guys, so I wanted you to know that your work deserves a thank you. So, thank you.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Grace.”

She smiled and walked upstairs. She walked into her brother’s lab to him say, “I mean, the truth is I'm stuck here... in Central City. Fear has kept me in that living room for 14 years.”

“So, get out of the damn living room and explore the rest of the house, Big Brother.”

He laughed softly. “Hey, I thought you’d be with Cisco…”

She shook her head. “He’s back at the Lab patching up the Doc. Thought I’d come check on my two favorite men.”

Joe smiled and kissed her temple.

Barry looked at him and admitted, “Joe, I... I was mad at you for being scared. But I mean, the truth is I was the one that was scared. I've been afraid of the man in yellow for my whole life. That's why I lost.”

Grace sniffled and put an arm around Joe’s shoulders as he said, “When you two first moved in with us, I thought it was gonna be too much. I'm already a single dad. Finances were tough. And you were two kids who just lost their mother. But, man, was I wrong. Especially with you, Bar. Within two weeks, you two had changed the whole dynamic of the house.” He looked at Barry. “Suddenly, the house was filled with this... Light.. This energy. I mean, you brightened up everything. You'd seen more darkness than any man will in a lifetime, and you never let it dim your soul. So there I was, thinking that I'm changing your life by taking you in, but... The truth is…” His voice cracked with emotion. “You changed mine.” He took Grace’s hand. “You both did.” He looked at Barry. “So don't lose that light now, Bar. The world may need the Flash, but... I need my Barry Allen.”

Grace let out a shuddery gasp as she tried to stop the tears. Joe pulled her and Barry into a hug. She hugged them both tightly. “I don’t know if I could have gotten over any of it,” Grace said, “If it wasn’t for you, dad.” She wiped her tears. “You wanna know why I started calling you dad?”

He looked at her curiously and she smiled. “Because that first year while we were with you you had become my rock. I knew to get myself the rest of the way out of the tunnel I was thrown into fourteen years ago I needed to know that someone would take my hand and pull me out, that’s you, dad.”

He hugged them both again and said, “Let's go home.”

* * *

Joe unlocked the door and Grace scoffed, laughing as she hit Barry. “Shut up! I did not.”

He laughed. “You did too!” he laughed. “All over Santa.” He looked up. “Hey. What are you guys doing here?”

“I invited them,” Joe told him. “Well, Cisco’s dating your sister now, so we gotta get to know him and Caitlin’s a friend…”

Barry smiled.

Grace looked at everyone. “Where’s Dr. Wells?”

“Uh, he wasn't feeling up to a social gathering, but he appreciated the invitation.” She pointed toward where the drinks were. “Eggnog?”

“Yes.”

“Please,” she said smiling.

Barry walked over to Eddie and Iris and congratulated them on moving in together. While Cisco walked up to Grace as Joe walked up. Grace smiled at Cisco just as Carter walked through the door. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to talk to you about this.”

Cisco looked at her curiously. She sighed. “You know how when Barry was whammied and he told me that Carter was in love with me. That he always had been?”

He nodded. “Yeah. What about it?”

She sighed. “I had a talk with my dad--the one in prison--and so I’m going to just be totally honest here.” She sighed. “Truth is…” she glanced over her shoulder at Carter who was talking to Iris and Eddie. She looked at Cisco. “Truth is…I’ve been in love with him too for just as long.” She looked into his eyes. “But see, I never thought I had a chance…so I moved on. Our timing always seemed to be off. And now isn’t much different, because I’m with you. I’m committed to you.” She exhaled. “I **_**love**_** _you_.”

Cisco didn’t let her say much else. He leaned in and took her mouth softly. He pressed his forehead to hers. “Just promise me when you have it figured out you’ll talk to me. You’ll tell me.”

She nodded. “I promise.”

Joe approached them both and Cisco backed away. “Mm. Day like today, grandma Esther's eggnog seems a little light on the bourbon.” All 3 of them laughed.

“Hey, Joe.” He sighed. “I know how important Christmas is to you and everything so I’m asking--”

“You wanna steal my daughter away to go meet your family, right?”

He nodded. “If that’s okay. I’d totally understand if it wasn’t--”

He chuckled. “Relax, Cisco, it’s fine. Just come by later so we can open presents, okay?”

He nodded. “Okay.” He smiled. “Thank you.”

He sipped again. “Joe.”

“Hmm?”

“I saw something weird tonight.”

“Yeah, Cisco, I saw it too.”

Grace laughed.

“No, I mean, when the Flash and the man in yellow were going full-on bumper cars on each other, I was watching the electricity coming off of them...yellow and red electricity.”

Grace gasped. “Yeah…I saw it too, but I didn’t…”

“When Barry was a kid, he said he saw red and yellow lightning in his house the night their mother died.”

“There were two of them.”

“The man in yellow may have killed Barry's mother, but...there was another speedster there that night.”

“Oh, God…so, who was the other one?”

“Hey, dad, it’s time.”

“Okay,” he said. He looked at Grace. “Will you sing?”

Her heart thudded in her chest. “Wha…what?”

“Will you sing?” He smiled and walked to another part of the living room. He pulled up her old guitar she got at a second hand shop. “I got it restringed.”

She gasped, handing her cup to Cisco. “No…way!”

He smiled, hugely. “Will you, please?”

She smiled, her eyes tearing up. She looked at Barry and Iris. “This is why I hate Christmas,” she said as she wiped her tears away. She smiled at Joe. “Yes, I’ll sing.”

“Oh, this is going to be awesome!” Cisco said and sat back down on the couch.

She laughed. She looked at Carter and he smiled. Her heart flipped and fluttered. She glanced at Cisco and her heart stuttered a little. She sat down on the coffee table and gently plucked the strings. She tuned it for a second and then began playing the song that she remembered mom and dad played right before they lit the tree. She cleared her throat and started singing:

_Silent night, Holy night,_

_All is calm, All is bright_

_Round yon virgin mother and child._

_Holy infant so tender and mild,_

_Sleep in heavenly peace._

_Sleep in heavenly peace._

_Silent night, Holy night,_

_Shepherds quake at the sight,_

_Glories stream from heaven afar,_

_Heavenly hosts sing alleluia;_

_Christ the Savior, is born!_

_Christ the Savior, is born!_

_Silent night, Holy night,_

_Son of God, Love's pure light_

_Radiant beams from thy holy face,_

_With the dawn of redeeming grace,_

_Jesus, Lord, at thy birth._

_Jesus, Lord, at thy birth._

When she finished, Joe lit up the tree, as his dark eyes glistened. Barry, Iris and Caitlin were in tears also, while Eddie and Cisco were in awe. Iris smiled. “As amazing as always, Gracie.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Iris.”

“Yeah, I have to admit, singing wouldn’t have been one of the things I thought you’d be good at,” Eddie admitted.

She laughed. “Thanks.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean--”

“I know what you meant and thank you.” She tilted her head up as Joe kissed her cheek.

“Love you, Princess.”

“Love you too, dad.”

She exhaled as she watched their…family co-mingle with each other. It may have all started with a tragedy of the explosion, but if anyone had told her that by that same time this year she’d end up with entirely new family she wouldn’t have believed them.

However, she knew as she watched them now that that’s exactly what they had become…her family. And for Grace, there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With Grace's truth will be fallout....


	16. A Family Christmas (2014)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas Time...after Grace's confession, she and Cisco are fighting...
> 
> The Allen/Wests continue their Christmas Eve tradition of having dinner with the Stephens family.
> 
> Grace has dinner with the Ramons, it starts out well...but ends badly when she lets loose on them for their treatment of Cisco.

**-Christmas Eve…**

"I didn't say that, Cisco. I said if you'd like to come you may. Angie would love to meet you,” she argued hotly in her own defense.

He scoffed. "No, she wouldn't. I'm the boyfriend of the girl that her son is in love with! She wants to check me out to see if--"

"What?!” Angie was like a mom to her. She loved Grace like a daughter. “Angie would never do that! She wants to meet you. She told me herself, this isn't something coming from Carter, to me to you. This is from her mouth."

He scoffed angrily. She groaned. "If you don't want to come then don't come but I'm going. I've spent Christmas Eve with these people for thirteen years. I will not miss it...not even for you."

He huffed. "Fine, go!"

She grabbed her coat, purse and keys. “Fine! I will!” She slammed the door behind her.

* * *

Grace got to the Stephens home and turned her car off. She sighed and ran her hands over her face. She rested her head on her steering wheel and sighed. She was going to give herself a few more minutes to cool down before she went inside with her family.

She yelped when a knock came on her glass. She rolled down her window and looked up at Angie. “Hi, mom.”

She looked down into Grace’s car, her blue eyes shining. “Hi, Sweetheart. It’s freezing out here, what are you doing? Come inside.”

“I had a fight with my boyfriend.”

Instead of insisting on her coming inside, Angie went around to the passenger side and slid into the seat. “What happened?”

She exhaled. “I was getting ready and I was figuring out what to do with my hair when Cisco came in and asked where I was going.” She sighed. “It just escalated from there.” She sighed. “Ever since I told him the truth about my feelings for him and for Carter…”

Angie nodded. “He’s analyzing every word you’re saying to see if you’re going to meet up with Carter or not?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I think so.”

“There’s nothing you can do about that,” she told her honestly. “His feelings are his own. He’s gonna have to wait to see what happens just like he put you through with some of the stuff that happened.” She took her hand and squeezed. “As much as I would **_**love**_** you and Carter together what I want the most is for the two of you to be happy. That’s all that Mike and I both want.”

She smiled and hugged her. “Thank you.” She sighed. “I love you. Whatever happens with me and Carter, remember that okay?”

She nodded. “I will.” She smiled. “Come on. Let’s get inside.”

She smiled. “Let’s go.”

Grace got out of the car and walked really fast into the house. She smiled when she seen Carter. “Hi.”

“Hey!”he said, smiling and his eyes sparkling. “Everything okay?”

She nodded. “Everything’s fine.” She hung up her coat and turned to him. She looked down at her dress and then at his expression. “What?”

“You look amazing.” He looked her up and down. She wore a vintage pin-up style type dress that was plaid with black lace inlay. Her dark hair was pulled up into a curly up-do. “Absolutely beautiful.”

She smiled. Her heart fluttered and her stomach somersaulted.”Thank you.” She looked at him. He was wearing a pair of black dress pants and a dark green button down shirt. Her heart stuttered. “You look handsome.”

He smiled. “Thank you.” He looked at his mom. “Dad’s looking for you, mom. Something about the ham I think.”

“Oh, good Lord!” She pulled her jacket off and tossed it at Carter. “Michael Joseph Stephens, touch it and I will take away a present!”

Grace laughed. “I love the fact that your mom threatens with taking back presents.”

“GRACIE!”

Grace looked over Carter and smiled when she seen her brother. “B!” she said and hugged him. “Mmm. Missed you.”

“You saw me yesterday.”

“So?” she asked with a smile.

“So…come dance with me.” He pulled her to the living room. They danced.

It was about an hour later, when Mike walked to the record player and put on one of his favorite songs--All I Want For Christmas Is You by Vince Vance. As Grace helped with setting the table she began singing:

_Take back the holly and mistletoe_

_Silver bells on strings_

_If I wrote a letter to Santa Claus_

_I would ask for just one thing_

While everyone listened to how amazing Grace sounded, Carter was hearing the sadness in the words she sang. She was singing it kinda bluesy and he suspected it was to fit his mood.

I don't need sleigh rides in the snow

Don't want a Christmas that's blue

Take back the tinsel, stockings, and bows

'Cause all I want for Christmas is you

I don't need expensive things

They don't matter to me

All that I want, it can't be found

Underneath the Christmas tree

You are the angel atop my tree

You are my dream come true

Santa can't bring me what I need

'Cause all I want for Christmas is you

I don't need expensive things

They don't matter to me

All that I want, it can't be found

Underneath the Christmas tree

You are the angel atop my tree

You are my dream come true

Santa can't bring me what I need

'Cause all I want for Christmas is you

'Cause all I want for Christmas is you

'Cause all I want for Christmas is you

Eddie looked at Iris. “Where in the hell did she get her range?”

She shrugged. “I have no idea. Blessed by the Gods on that one.”

“Dinner’s ready,” Angie said as she came in with the big bowl of mashed potatoes that Carter had made and had perfected over the years.

Everyone came to the table and sat and Mike brought in the ham. Grace stood. “Mike, if you don’t mind I’d like to make a toast before we eat?”

“Go ahead, Sweetheart.”

She cleared her throat. “I remember when we came to live with Iris and dad. I didn’t want to celebrate Christmas anymore because mom loved this time of year. She loved everything about it--the romance, the family and how cooking for everyone made her feel.” She took a deep breath and Carter reached for her hand. Grace took it gladly. She continued, “I loved it so much because she did and when she died…I had no idea how I was going to find the joy I had found in the holiday.”

She smiled down at Carter. “And then CJ came over on Christmas Eve thirteen years ago and invited us over for dinner.” She smiled down at Mike and Angie. “Which the three of you and how much you loved the holiday and just being together made me remember why I loved it so much.” She smiled at all three of them and said, “So I thank you for the bottom of my heart for inviting us all in to your traditions and allowing us all to come together as a family.” She looked down at Carter and then at his parents, “I love you guys so much.”

Mike stood again and hugged her. “We love you too, honey. And trust us, inviting you four into our home and now Eddie was never a hardship. We knew it was going to be difficult for you after Nora…” he sighed. “Angie made a promise to your mom the day of her funeral that she would always keep an eye on you guys and that’s all we’ve done.”

Barry shook his head. “No, what you did was give us a family again. So, like Grace said, thank you.”

* * *

****-Christmas Day…** **

About 24 hours later, she stood on the porch of the Ramon home and waited with Cisco for someone to let them inside. With a cloth bag in one hand, she took his hand with the other and intertwined their fingers, squeezing in support.

He smiled, kissed her temple and then walked into the house. “Mama. We’re here.” He rounded the corner to go into the dining-living room combination and his heart thudded in his chest. His mother was fawning all over his older brother…like always. “Mama,” he said raising his voice.

She smiled. Mrs. Ramon was a beautiful woman with dark hair and dark eyes and a beautiful smile. Grace walked with Cisco to greet his mother. He kissed her cheek. “Hi, mama.”

“Hello, Cisco.”

“Mama, this is Grace. Grace, this is my mother.”

She smiled. “Hi, Mrs. Ramon. It’s so nice to meet you.”

“You too, Grace.” She looked Grace up and down and then looked her in the eyes. “You’re are really very beautiful.” She looked at Cisco. “Great birthing hips, Francisco, good choice.”

“Ma!” he exclaimed under his breath.

“Thank you, ma’am,” she smiled. “If you think I’m beautiful you should have seen my mother.”

“Oh! Is your mother okay with the fact that you’re here and not at her home?”

She nodded. “My mother would be perfectly okay with it.”

Cisco smiled. “Mama, remember I told you that Grace’s mother died when she was a young girl.”

“Oh, right! I’m sorry.”

She smiled. “It’s okay. My mom loved Christmas, but I think she would have loved Cisco and would have been okay with me here for the day.”

“Hey, man,” Dante said. “Glad you could make it.”

“It’s Christmas. Where else would I be?”

Dante smiled at Grace. “Hi, I’m Dante.”

“This is my girlfriend, Grace.”

“Wow…” he said still smiling, but Grace noticed it slid into a flirty smile. “You’re beautiful.”

She smiled, put her hand in Cisco’s. “Thank you, Dante.”

“Dante’s a musical prodigy,” Mrs. Ramon gushed.

“Yes, so I’ve heard,” she smiled. “You must be very proud, Mrs. Ramon.”

“Yes, we are. So, Francisco tells us you’re a musical prodigy yourself.”

“I didn’t say that,” Cisco countered.

She laughed and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Baby.” She looked at his family. “I, um…excelled in music in school and was in a few musicals in high school.”

“But you never pursued it?” Dante asked.

She shook her head. “No. I found music to be an outlet for myself when--at the time--my world ended. No, I went to school for several--”

“You went to college then?” Mrs. Ramon interjected.

“Yes, ma’am I did.”

“Grace has several degrees. Most of them in science. And if she wants she could actually pursue medicine.”

She laughed softly. She had a feeling from what Cisco had told her about growing up with the golden boy of the Ramon family that he was trying to prove that he did something good. She cupped her hand into his arm and turned her head away as she whispered, “Thank you.”

Mrs. Ramon watched the interaction between the two of them and she could see the immense love that passed between the two of them. She could honestly say that the two of them seemed very much in love with each other.

“Well, who is this lovely little thing?”

Cisco smiled. “Papa, this is my girlfriend, Grace. Grace, my father.”

Grace smiled. “Mr. Ramon,” she held out her hand.

He smiled and folded her into his arms. “We don’t shake hands in this family, especially when you’ll more than likely become family.”

She hugged the older man gratefully, passing Cisco her bag and folding him into a more affectionate hug. She hadn’t realized just how much Cisco had talked about her to his family. Mr. Ramon looked at the fact that she had her coat on. “Cisco! Where are your manners?! You’re supposed to offer to take her jacket.”

“Oh, sorry, Papa--”

“No, Cisco,” she said. She looked at Mr. Ramon. “I appreciate the gesture, Sir, but we just got here and it’s helping to take the chill off.” She winked at Cisco and smiled at him. “I’ll take your jacket though, Babe.” She looked at Mrs. Ramon. “If you’ll show me where to put our jackets…”

“Of course,” Mrs. Ramon said. She ushered into the master bedroom where there were a bunch of jackets laid out on the bed.

Grace laid their coats on the bed and turned to look out.

“You really love my son don’t you?”

She nodded. “Very much so, ma’am.” A small smile slid across her lips. “I’d love to marry him if he’d have me that long.”

To say his mother was floored was an understatement. “Really? How long have you guys been together?”

“Um…about a year,” she said.

His mother gasped and then walked out of the room. “Francisco!”

“Wha…what?” Cisco said coming into the living room.

“You’ve been dating her for almost a year and we’re just now meeting her?!”

Cisco looked at Grace and she shrugged. “Well, mom, I told you she was in the explosion the day we began dating and then her brother was in a coma for nine months. She didn’t want to leave her brother’s side.” He held out the bag. “Grace made dessert and eggnog--Puerto Rican style.”

His father gasped. “Oh, really? That would definitely be something to try!”

Grace walked up to Cisco as Mr. Ramon and Dante walked into the kitchen. Mrs. Ramon went to greet one of Cisco’s cousins. Grace sighed. “I told you I suck at meeting parents. Your mom hates me.”

“I love you,” he said and kissed her softly. “And it doesn’t matter if they hate you."

She exhaled. “Really? I read that most Puerto Rican boys have to have their mother’s approval with whichever girl they choose. So, I figured--”

He silenced her with a kiss. He pulled back and shook his head. “Totally untrue. It might be true for Dante, but not me."

Her heart hammered hard in her chest and she just stared down at him. She had never had a guy say that to her before. It actually felt nice to be someone’s priority. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered into his neck, “You are so getting laid later, Mr. Ramon.”

He laughed and kissed her.

“Cisco.”

He turned and smiled at his father. “Yes, sir.”

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

He nodded. “Sure.”

Dante walked over. “I got her, Little Brother.”

Cisco looked back at her and she nodded. “Go ahead.”

He walked off with his father and looked at his dad. “Sir?”

“Your mother told me that this relationship is serious. You’ve been dating for a year?”

He bobbed his head back and forth for a second. “Not quite a year, but yes, sir. Grace includes the time that we were friends only.”

At dinner, there was the ease of conversation and she answered all the family’s questions that were tossed at her. And his mother seemed to warm up to her after awhile. Cisco reassured her that it was because she was accepting her and trying and that his father absolutely adored her.

Grace had a feeling she should have stopped while she was ahead, but she was confused about something. If they could accept her, a complete stranger, why couldn’t they see their son? “So Mr. Ramon I've heard a lot about what it was like for Cisco growing up with his brother from his mouth. And yet you guys are so openly accepting me. So I'm wondering why you treated him the way you did.”

Grace knew she had asked the wrong thing when she saw Mr. Ramon turn red and steam practically came out of his ears. “I won't be questioned about my relationship with my sons by you. Get out!”

“Why? because you don't want me to reveal I know you treat Cisco like he's lower than his brother despite his achievements? Which if you ask me are a lot more fruitful than Dante’s.”

“Stop it!”

“Do you even realize that your treatment of him all his life has affected him to the point that he has trouble opening up to me? The woman he's in love with? About the important things in his life, despite always wanting me to talk to him whenever I'm struggling?”

“GET OUT!” He growled.

The last thing that Grace heard before she left was, “Don’t bring her back here.

Grace held up her hands in a surrendering type gesture. "Fine. I'm out." She walked into the other room and grabbed her coat. She looked at Cisco and then walked out the door. She pushed her jacket closed and started walking. She couldn’t very well get in Cisco’s car, not if he was staying.

Moments later, she heard a car pull up next to her and the door opened. She looked in at the man in the car. It was Cisco and all he said was, “Get in.”

She slid into the car and she sighed. She sat back in the seat and shut the door. They were silent for a couple of minutes and then Grace said, “You were right. Your parents are bad. To treat your kid like that to up your brother's image. Now don't get me wrong your brother can be a flirt but I can see Dante is suffering just as much under your parents shadow as you have been.”

“What are you talking about?” Cisco asked as he turned down a road.

"Babe, don't you get it? You may have been all but ignored, but your brother...he's had an enormous amount of pressure on him. It's gotta be exhausting to try and live up to those high expectations. To realize you're never going to actually fulfill your parents' dreams for you." She ran a hand through her hair. "Baby, that's enormous. If I was to analyze your brother, I'd say he's suffering just as much as you are." She inhaled. “I guess what I’m saying I get why you need to take your time.”

Did she though?

* * *

As he parked along the curb, they got out of the car and Cisco took her hand as they walked to the door. “So, do you think it went well?”

He smiled and stopped her as her heels sank into the snow. “It did.” He smiled and took her face in his hands. “Sweetheart, I told you not to expect anything real special or extravagant. However, I can promise you that my father likes you. When he hugged me he whispered that he approved of my choice.”

She smiled and hugged him, feeling relieved. She stopped on the other side of the street. “Oh, we forgot the presents in the trunk.”

“I’ll get them.”

She nodded. “I’ll wait here. Heels and snow aren’t friendly.”

He laughed and kissed her. He went back to the car and popped the trunk. He pulled the bags of gifts from the trunk and then joined her. She took a couple of the bags, which freed up his hand and she took it, intertwining their fingers.

She dropped his hand and walked into the house. “Dad?”

Joe smiled. “Princess!”

She laughed and hugged her dad. She then walked over to Barry while Joe hugged Cisco. She hugged him tight. He kissed her temple like he always did. “How’d it go?”

“Cisco says it went great, but my mouth got me trouble.”

“How?” Barry asked.

“Because I let loose on their favoritism. His family basically told me not to come back.”

Iris’ jaw dropped. “Ooh. Enough. Let’s have some eggnog and open presents.”

“Hey, Gracie, who gets this one?”

She looked at the small box. “Cisco. I took the idea from Eddie.” She winked at the blond haired guy. She looked at Barry. “Yours are the red papered ones. Dad gets the colorful paper. Iris gets purple. Um…Cisco gets silver. And Eddie gets the candy cane stripped ones.”

“You got me gifts too?” Eddie said looking up at her.

She smiled and sat down on the floor with her brother. “Of course, Eddie. I may have gotten Cisco’s family gift cards, but I went shopping with Iris for yours. You need gifts to open too.”

He smiled. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She kissed his cheek. “Welcome to the family.”

He smiled. “Thanks.”

Grace sighed. She just hoped that next Christmas went better.

* * *

****-January 5, 2015…** **

Grace hated goodbyes.

She especially hated goodbyes that involved Carter getting on his plane and going back to Europe. She sniffed and wiped her tears away, trying to act like she wasn’t wasn’t crying. Carter finished hugging everyone and then turned to Grace and saw her tear-stained face. He smiled. “Oh, Sweetheart, it’ll be okay. I’ll be home soon.”

She curled her face into his neck. “Why do you have to leave at all?”

“Because I have to finish closing these deals and continuing the others.” He smiled and kissed her forehead. “I’ll call you when I land in London, okay?”

She nodded. “Please,” she said and her tears started flowing again.

He held her and whispered into her hair. “I love you, Gracie.”

She sniffled. “I love you too,” she whispered back. “Hurry home.”

He nodded. “I promise.” He kissed her cheek.

She stood there and watched as he got on the plane, her heart breaking with his each step.


	17. The Revenge of the Rogues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Grace being honest continues....
> 
> Wells' true colors are beginning to show...

It was a cold, rainy January day in Central City as the entire team was out at Ferris Airstrip running tests on Barry’s speed and helping him get faster. They’d been doing these since they all came back from their “Christmas Break”. Or she should say her brother was. As always, when it came to these stupid things Grace was sidelined and just told to watch and observe. It was really beginning to piss her off, but the step in the right direction was it wasn’t coming from Cisco, Caitlin or Barry this time.

This time it was Wells.

She’d been noticing lately that Wells seemed to be strangely obsessed with getting Barry faster. At first it hadn’t sparked curiosity when he wanted to study her brother, but now he was like cutting Barry off from doing what he had set out to do. Cutting him off of hanging out with her, Iris or even Joe. She had joined her brother to help him get dangerous metahumans off the streets and to make Central City safer, but they hadn’t been doing any of that.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that soon she’d be doing that part alone for awhile, because unlike her brother she wasn’t going to give up on making this City safer not if she could stop them. She turned when she heard Cisco’s drone firing at her brother. She watched. She knew Barry wanted a challenge and Cisco was giving it to him, keeping in mind the warning that Caitlin and Wells gave him too.

However, on this last round of firings, he was getting pretty close. “Cisco,” Grace told him.

Caitlin walked over to where she and Cisco stood. “That was too close.”

“He told me to make it hard.”

“Pretty sure he didn't tell you to make him dead.”

“Ease off a little.”

Cisco glared at her. “I know what I’m doing.”

She rolled her eyes. That was another thing that had changed. Ever since she had admitted everything it was like he was punishing her for it, but he wanted her to be “patient” with him. Ever since she had realized that his family treated him the way they had, she’d been trying to make things work. Trying things to get him to open up, but it didn’t work.

None of it did.

However, what seemed to be working pretty good was her and Carter’s business. She was steadily busy outside of life as Gaia and working at CCPN. She was almost done with the software for the winery and she could send it all to Carter when she was finished.

When it came to Carter and her confession, unlike Cisco, he wasn’t punishing her for anything. They went back to being friends that occasionally flirted. She usually initiated it when no one could hear her, which was usually at his place.

That’s where she was spending most of her time when she wasn’t at home with Cisco or at the Lab. She was at Carter’s place overseeing the renovations that would be done by the end of February. The more she stayed and hung out at his place the more she fell in love with the place.

She and Carter talked all the time. About _Everything._

“Remember, this is just supposed to be a training exercise to improve Barry's speed.”

“ _Cisco, you gonna bring it or what?_ ” Barry asked over the comm.

Cisco smirked at Grace and she nodded, saying in unison with Wells, “Bring it.”

This time Cisco fired a missile and it exploded near Barry sending him flying forward. He landed hard and rolled. They watched as he slowly stood and then faced off with the drone like a bull and bullfighter. However that wasn’t what had caught Grace’s attention, what had was the fact that…

Harrison Wells was about to stand!?!!

Her eyes got large and she watched him until he settled after Barry had finished the exercise. She looked away before Wells noticed and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She quickly texted Joe and Carter:

****Talk later. I just saw something y’all aren’t going to believe.** **

They stopped to give Barry a food break and then as Barry prepared for another round, Grace looked at him and Cisco and said, “I gotta go. I promised dad I’d meet up with him. Plus I gotta call Carter before it gets too late in London and see how the meeting went.” She walked up to her brother and hugged him. “Bye, B.”

He kissed her hair. He knew why she was feeling the way she was, because she felt left out again. He hated knowing she was feeling like that, but Wells made it difficult to say no to him, so Barry hadn’t said anything. So, he wasn’t, but it still bothered him. “Bye, Kiddo. Love you.”

“Love you too.” She walked over to Cisco and put her arms around his neck. “And you…don’t try to kill my brother, okay?”

He laughed softly. “I promise.”

She walked away and Caitlin looked at him. “How is she, Barry?” Caitlin asked.

“How would you be when you realize that more than likely you’ll be sidelined for the fight against the man that killed your mother?”

Caitlin winced. Wells didn’t look up as he said, “She’ll get over it. This is about you, Barry--”

“This is about Grace too,” Barry countered. “Mom was her mother too. It’s not fair to sideline her when the Reverse-Flash shows up. And it shouldn’t be just about me, Harrison and you know it. This is her fight as much as mine.”

* * *

On her way into town she had gotten a call from Iris. They were going to meet for coffee at Jitters. Grace walked into Jitters and searched the place for her sister. She smiled when seen her sitting at a 2-seater table. She walked over to the table and sat down. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Iris said. “Glad you could make it.”

She smiled. “Of course, Iris. You’re my sister just as much as Barry is my brother.”

Iris smiled. She loved it when she said that and she felt like Grace really meant it too. “Thanks. I ordered a pumpkin spice cappuccino for you. They’ll be pulling them soon.”

“Cool. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Grace sipped the cappuccino and then looked at her sister. “So, what’s up?”

“I don’t know if you know this, but, um…Barry told me how he feels.”

She nodded. “I know. I’ve known it for awhile.”

She exhaled. “Of course you have.”

“What’s the matter?” she asked. “I know he knows that he missed the opportunity.” She eyed the woman she loved more than someone would love a sister. She lifted a brown brown and asked, “He did miss it, didn’t he?”

“Well, I am with Eddie,” Iris said looking down into her coffee.

“But?” Grace asked looking at her past the rim of her cup.

“But now I can’t seem to get it out of my head.”

“What that my brother’s in love with you and has been since he was eleven years old?”

She nodded. “Gracie, I didn’t even….how could his confession make me do this?”

She shrugged. “Maybe because you’re now thinking of the what if?”

“What if?”

She nodded. “It’s the same thing I’m doing with Carter right now. ‘What if we had said it in high school? What if we said it in college?’ She shrugged. “You know the What if. Do you like him, romantically?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.” And she really didn’t. She had no idea what she was thinking. But she couldn’t get his confession out of her mind.

* * *

Grace had texted Joe and asked him to meet her at the house. So, when he pulled up she got Carter on Skype. Carter looked into the phone. “Hey, Babe, what’s up?”

She smiled. That was another thing. They were getting more brave with the pet names. And she **_**really, really, really**_** liked it. “Just a second. Let dad get up here and we’ll go inside.” She looked at Joe. “Iris isn’t home. She’s at work. So this is a perfect place to talk without prying eyes or ears.”

They nodded and Grace used her key and walked in the house. She walked into the living room. “So, today, yet again, we were at Ferris Airfield working on Barry’s speed.”

Joe nodded. “Okay. And?”

“And I swear to you, on everything that I own I saw Wells move.”

Carter smiled. “Angel, he’s paralyzed. He has upper mobility.”

“I know that, CJ, but we’re talking lower mobility.” She looked at them both. She handed her phone to Joe so she could demonstrate. She sat in one of the arm chairs. “So, Barry trips himself up during one of the runs and rolls and just stands there with this drone looking at him and I swear to you…I saw Wells do this…” she demonstrated with her foot. “And push himself up like was going to stand.”

Both men’s jaws hit the floor. “You’re kidding?!” Carter exclaimed.

She shook her head. “No. And then when he got up or sped off again, Wells sat back down.”

“Holy shit,” Joe muttered.

Grace sighed. “Ten to one says that he’s not actually paralyzed. Or if anything he was and he’s still garnering sympathy even though he has full mobility.”

Joe looked at them both. “This is huge! Like huge!”

She nodded. “Right. And Barry’s so focused right now on the Reverse Flash he’s not going to listen to anyone about it.”

Carter sighed. “So what do we do then?”

“Nothing for now. We keep piling evidence to prove it to Barry when we need to.”

* * *

The Customs Warehouse was crawling with cops. A forensics photographer was taking photographs of the scene. Barry was checking out the scene, while Joe was talking to one of his guys. “Are you sure nothing's missing?”

“That's what the supervisor said.” Joe looked dumbfounded. “I can check again,” the officer said.

“Bar.”

“Hey.”

“Well, the breakage indicates that the door somehow had zero viscoelasticity when it hit the ground.”

“What does that mean to normal people?”

“Sorry. Uh...the steel shattered like glass.” He picked up a piece of the metal and looked at it. “It was frozen, Joe,” he said looking up at his foster dad.

“Snart.”

“He's back,” Barry said.

“I thought Snart was some world-class thief. All these expensive cars...he didn't take any of them? It doesn't make sense,” Eddie said, confused.

Joe looked at him. “Eddie, put out an APB on Snart.”

“Got it.”

Barry dropped the metal. “Snart wasn't here to steal anything. He was setting a trap. For me. And by me, I mean…”

“Yeah, I know who you meant.”

* * *

Grace stood in S.T.A.R. Labs and listened as Barry told everyone that Captain Cold was back.

“Captain Cold is back?” Cisco asked.

“For a non-metahuman, Leonard Snart is proving to be quite the Nemesis.”

“He still has the cold gun, the one he stole from us, the one I built.”

Grace sighed and put her hands on her hips.

“Well, what does he want this time?”

“The Flash,” Barry said.

“Of course he does,” Grace muttered. “You’re only one that he knows he can have stop chasing him.”

“If Snart wants a fight with the Flash, then I'll give him one.”

“Well…”

“You don't think I should?” Barry asked.

“I didn't say that. But, Barry, as fast as you are, you cannot be everywhere at once. And it becomes then a question of priorities. Now, in the last month, you have made a commitment to increasing your speed, enhancing your reflexes, and it's working. You're finally getting faster.”

Grace couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Okay, but what am I supposed to do, just ignore Snart?”

“The last time you had a fight with Snart, a train derailed. You were lucky to get all those people to safety. And if you don't give him that fight…”

“He may just back off, and there'll be no casualties,” Barry said.

“Or it could be worse,” Grace said.

Ignoring her, Wells said, “Look, Barry, Cisco and I will work with Joe and the police and devise a way to catch cold. Yes, I said it, Cisco. As soon as it came out of my mouth, I heard it.”

“Yeah, we can definitely come up with ways to neutralize Snart,” Cisco said.

“Listen, Barry. Whether or not you go after Snart, that's your choice. We here, we will do whatever we can to support you. But after this past Christmas, after the events with the reverse-Flash... I just think he poses a greater threat to all of us,” Wells told him.

“Okay.”

Grace scoffed. “Well, you all got it worked out.”

They all turned to Grace and she looked at them all. “Finally, remembered I was here huh?” She shook her head when Barry opened his mouth. “Don’t. I get it. Reverse-Flash is more important.” She looked at Cisco. “By the way, this is exactly what I was talking about the other night.” She glared at him. “You don’t even notice when I enter a room, don’t even acknowledge me.” She nodded. “Well, since you obviously don’t need me--even though the asshole killed my mother too--I’ll leave you all to figuring out a way to get rid of Snart and Reverse-Flash.” She exhaled. She looked at her brother. “You know, I always knew that at some point we’d drift apart a little, but I always thought it’d be when we got married. Not because some stupid Scientist thinks that making sure you’re much faster is more important than actually helping our foster father with something that we both know that the Police Department can’t fix.”

“Grace, that’s not--”

“Don’t tell me what’s not fair, Barry!” She screamed. “Don’t you dare! He killed mom too! You all expect me to sit back and pretend like it doesn’t matter?! That it doesn’t piss me off like it does you? That it doesn’t hurt that Wells has all but called me useless as you try to get faster? Well I’m sorry it does! It pissed me off more than you could ever think! It hurts that no one in this room bothers to realize that she wasn’t just Barry’s mom. She was my mom! I mean, I get reminded of her everyday. Because I’m the one that looks just like her. I’m her fucking doppelganger! But go. Have fun.”

She then flew away quickly.

* * *

She walked into the loft. It had become her sanctuary, her oasis. She sighed as she threw everything that she carried on to the table that was in the middle of the room. No one was working on the bedroom today. She had given them day off since they had worked so hard the last couple of weeks. She took her phone out of her pocket and texted Carter: ****[From Me/2:45PM]: Hey, if you’re not sleeping or busy, I need to talk to talk.****

Seconds later, her Skype app alerted her to a call. She smiled and answered, “Hey,” she said with a watery smile.

“What’s wrong?”

“What time is it there?”

“Um…ten-forty-seven at night, why?”

“And you’re not in bed?”

He shook his head. “I don’t sleep well when I travel.” He knew her evasion tactics well enough. “Gracie, Baby, talk to me. What’s going on?”

She took a deep breath and told him everything. By the time she finished she was in tears. “I don’t know what to do. I’m being ignored by everyone. Barry’s more important. The Reverse-Flash is more important than helping dad. I can’t fight RF because I’m not Barry, even though according to RF he and I have gone up against each other before.”

“How?” he asked. “That’s not possible. You’ve had your powers for a year, Sweetheart. That’s not possible.”

“I know.” She heffed a sigh. “This sucks.”

“It does, but you want my opinion?”

“That is why I called, besides the fact that seeing you and hearing your voice calms me down.”

“I know, Baby. Do you remember when we were kids and your brother kept telling you that either you couldn’t ride your bike or that he’d teach you later. But after awhile you got tired of hearing it and you decided to teach yourself to ride?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, Gracie, think of this like that. Get on that bike and go. Basically what I mean is, be the Gracie I fell in love with so many years ago. She’s sassy, stubborn and determined, but she always figured out away.” He smiled as she she smiled, her eyes sparkling. “You can’t leave the entire city vulnerable to Snart. Not if he has Cisco’s cold gun to be his back up. That’s our home. If your dad’s anything like mine, he would be disappointed in Barry’s decision to only focus on the Reverse-Flash and not helping him keep the city safe.”

She smiled, feeling 100% better.

He looked into her eyes. “Because, Baby, by the sounds of it, the only way anyone’s going to take you seriously is if you force them to. So, if your brother’s not going to help then be our home’s last line of defense. Take on Snart and whomever else and tell them flat out just because the Flash isn’t here doesn’t mean that the City’s vulnerable for a takeover by these jackasses.”

She laughed and sniffled. She wiped her tears. He smiled. “There she is.”

“Who?”

“You.”

She sighed. “Carter, I don’t know if I can do this, honey. Not by myself.”

“Yes, you can,” he told her forcefully. “You’re Grace Allen, damn it. You can do anything.” He smiled.

“But, CJ, I have spent this year having my powers suppressed. No one helped me build them, strengthening them. They just helped me to control them and that was it. I’m not even sure what all I can do besides what you’ve helped me figure out.”

“Then you know what?” he smiled. “Figure it out. You’re the smartest person in the room, Gracie. You’re just the one that has to figure that out.” He smiled. “And when you do figure it out, one by one integrate them into your everyday life. Get used to using them.”

“But I don’t want to be dependent on my powers.”

“You won’t be, but you need to learn how to use them and the best way to do that, Baby is to figure it out and implement them somewhere in your life, right?”

She nodded. “Basically make them a priority. Like working out.”

He nodded. “Exactly. That’s my girl.” He smiled. “And the next time that Wells becomes tunnel-visioned by your brother gaining more speed you’ll know that your dad and the City will be safe because you’ll be there.”

She smiled and sighed. “I love you. Thank you.”

He smiled. “I love you. You’re welcome. I miss you.”

“I miss you too.” She sighed.

“So when you said everyone was ignoring you is that Cisco too?”

“Yep and we’ve been fighting. I’m half tempted to move in here. I don’t know how much longer I’m gonna be able to live with him acting like this.”

He laughed. “Well, do whatever you think is best. You can move in if you want. I would love the company.”

She laughed. “I know you would and so would I.” She sighed. “I’ll let you know. I should get back before something happens and Gaia’s not there to help.”

“Okay. Call me later and tell me how it went. I love you.”

She smiled and blew him a kiss. She hung up. She grabbed her coat and walked out of the apartment.

* * *

She walked into the precinct, took a deep breath as she said goodbye to Iris. She smiled at Eddie. “Finalizing moving in details?”

He nodded. “And easing her doubts I think.”

She nodded. “Yeah. Make sure you address all of her concerns or you’ll end up like I am right now.”

“What’s going on?”

“We’re fighting. He’s now ignoring me.”

“Ahh…” he nodded. “Sorry. How’s Carter?”

“He’s good. Misses home, his bed.”

Eddie smiled. “You.”

She laughed. “Probably. Dad and Barry upstairs?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

She smiled. “Thanks, Eddie.” She climbed the stairs and stopped outside of Barry’s lab as she overheard Joe and Barry talking.

“Look, Dr. Wells and S.T.A.R. Labs are gonna work with you. Cisco thinks he has a way to protect the police against Snart's cold gun.”

“Barry, I can understand if you're scared. We talked about this.”

“Of course I'm scared, Joe. This guy could run into the precinct and kill everyone in here in seconds. He threatened Iris. I won't let him hurt the most important people in my life again. If that means devoting every second I have outside this place to getting faster and to stopping him, then that's what I'm gonna do. I'm sorry. I've made up my mind.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing there’s two meta-humans on this team, Big Brother. And since you don’t need me to help get you faster then I’ll help dad and Eddie against Snart.”

“Come on, Grace--”

She glared at her brother. “I’m on this team too and if you won’t let me join you in the fight against the man who killed our mother, then I’ll save the damn City. At least I know they need me.”

“Ooh, that was a low blow, Gracie,” Joe said.

“Low blow?” Grace said. “Well, dad, how about this? How about the fact that ever since we both went up against the Reverse-Flash Wells has basically said I’m useless in this fight against him. Even though Nora Allen was my mother too. And that night affects me just as much as it does Barry. But everyone seems to forget about me. Along the way everyone seems to have forgotten that I saved the All-mighty Flash’s ass in the last fight! If I hadn’t you might actually be dead!”

“Whoa, Grace, I never said--”

“But you didn’t exactly stop him from saying it did you?” She sighed. “I know I don’t show it often, but you know in the fifteen years that mom’s been dead no one seems to bother to ask me how much it hurts for me. How much it hurt to see moms in the neighborhood play with their kids. How much it hurt to see moms and daughters do days together. How much it hurt at my first school dance to not have mom there to pick out my dress. I had to ask Angie to come with me.” She wiped her tears off her face. “How much it will hurt to not have mom be there when I pick out my wedding dress, watch me get married or see me have babies.”

She sighed again and looked at her dad. “If you want my help, then I’ll help. If not then I’ll just do it on my own without you.”

Joe nodded. “All right, Sweetheart. We can do this.”

* * *

The next day at the precinct, Cisco and Doctor Wells, were showing the officers the shields they had invented to help against Captain Cold. Grace was there for moral support.

“If I could have everybody's attention, please.”

Grace fought a snicker.

“You have our attention, Mr. Ramon. Okay, check it. So Dr. Wells and I, we took your ballistic shields and... and we lined them with a pretty sweet compacted heating ribbon designed to repel temperature at especially those reaching absolute zero, like Captain Cold's gun.”

“And that's supposed to keep us from getting turned into popsicles?”

“Um, yeah.”

Grace looked at the man across from her and said, “Don’t be an asshole.”

“They will.”

“How are we supposed to trust anything from S.T.A.R. Labs after you nuked the city?”

Cisco looked at Grace and she nodded in encouragement. “You're right. You're right, you shouldn't trust us. What happened a year ago... that was our fault. And we can't change the past, as much as we wish we could. But tomorrow is a different story. Tomorrow's a different thing. We just want the chance to make things better. Observe.”

He fired the gun at the shield that was protecting the dummy.

“Dummies are one thing. My officers are another.”

Grace nodded to Cisco who just gave her a stiff smile. She sighed and strolled over to Joe and Wells. Joe wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You seem pleased with yourself, doctor.”

“Well, I'm just happy to help the police catch Snart, Joe.”

“Barry might be able to help too.”

“I think Cisco's heat shields are more than up to the task. And, Joe, if Barry feels he's gonna endanger lives by taking on Snart--”

“Endanger lives, my ass.” She bent forward, getting eye to eye with him. “You forget I’ve been watching you for weeks basically taking advantage of the fact that my brother has a driving need to take on this guy.” She got closer. “You know you may think you have everyone around you fooled but I’m beginning to understand you better than you think.” She narrowed her eyes. “And just so you know if you think for a moment that my brother will completely cut me out of his life because you want him too you gotta another thing coming…doctor.”

“You know what makes Barry so special?”

Wells didn’t answer.

“He wants to help everyone he can, however he can. Always has. Until now.”

“I guess it's just a question of priorities then.”

“But who’s, Doctor?” Grace asked him.

Wells ignored her.

“I do believe my daughter asked you a question. You know, Barry said the exact same thing to me. And I thought, “doesn't sound like him.” I guess because it sounds like you.”

* * *

Grace walked into the Cortex and looked at everyone--from Cisco, Wells, Caitlin and Barry. “I have something I want to say and I don’t want anyone to say anything until I’m finished.” She glared at her brother, Cisco and Wells. “Am I clear?”

Barry nodded. “Go ahead.”

“I’m going to help dad and Eddie.” She looked at Cisco and Wells. “Or I should say, Gaia is.” She looked at everyone again. “And trust me, I am acutely aware that you all think I can’t do it.” She put her hands on her hips. “But here’s the thing. I don’t need you to tell me that. I don’t need you at all actually.” She narrowed her eyes at Cisco and then looked at everyone. “If you’re all going to pretend I’m not here or actually believe that I’m that forgettable, then please, keep doing it.”

She looked at her brother. “But just remember all those times when you’d tell me something, remember what happened because this time will be just like those, Barry.” She glared at everyone. “I will prove to everyone and to myself that I don’t need the Flash to keep this City safe.” She sighed. “It was nice to have him, but if he doesn’t want Gaia around, guess what? She won’t be.” She flitted her eyes between everyone. “But don’t come crying to me when something happens and the Flash can’t do it.”

She looked at her brother. “I’m done being in your shadow.”

She turned on her heel and walked out. Caitlin looked at everyone. “What was that?”

“That’s my sister,” Barry muttered. “That was the girl I grew up with. That determination you just saw to prove us all wrong? That’s Gracie before all of the emotionally and mentally abusive relationships.” He looked at everyone. “However, I don’t think she was directing all of that ‘invisible’ stuff at us.” He looked at Cisco. “Let me guess, since she told you that she’s had conflicting feelings about you and Carter, you’ve been starting fights, ignoring her.”

He didn’t say anything. Barry exhaled. “So, answer something for me Cisco, why is it you can have conflicting feelings about being with my sister, but she can’t have--”

“She’s in love with Carter, Barry.”

“But who does she live with, Cisco? Who does she sleep next to every night? Who has told you over and over again that she loves you, that she’s committed to you?” He looked at his friend. “You could probably call my sister a lot of things, but disloyal is not one of them.” He looked into his eyes. “Unless that person she’s with becomes physically and emotionally unavailable.” He folded his arms in front of him. “Just remember what I said. You will lose her, Cisco. She will only put up with it for so long before she moves out.”

* * *

Captain Cold showed up to the hangar where The Rathaways landed their private jet and fired his cold gun into the air to bring on the police. As predicted the police showed up, but so did Gaia. Cold fired his gun at the police and Eddie and Joe raised their shields. Gaia landed and stood in front of the cold ray.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the Flash’s sidekick.”

She glared at him. She raised her hands and shot out a orangish-red beam. It hit Snart. “I’m not his sidekick.”

Snart brought out Mick, his partner and he started firing some kind of heat gun. Grace held up her hands and the cold beam bounced off of something invisible and then she took a deep breath and blew out hard. Mick’s fire started to disappear. He growled and turned the gun on her. She let the heat be absorbed into her body and then pushed it back out through her hands.

Joe shot at Mick’s gun, putting out of commission. She wanted to go after Mick and Snart, but she knew she had to stay there to keep them safe. She looked around and saw the fire hydrant. She looked at Joe and Eddie. “Keep them back.”

She walked to the hydrant and pulled the cover off of it. She then directed the water with her hands and put out the fire that Mick created. She sighed. When the fire went out, the officers clapped for her. She smiled.

* * *

Barry walked into the precinct to see chaos. He looked around for Joe and found both him and Grace. Joe looked a little worn for wear. “Hey. Hey, are you okay?”

“I'll call you back. I'm fine. Snart's new partner, he's got this hand-held flamethrower. Almost everyone was treated on the scene, but...we got two in the burn unit, though.”

“I'm sorry. I should've listened to you.” He looked at Grace. “To both of you.”

“It's all good. Grace was amazing out there, Barry. Stop treating her as just your kid sister. She’s a big girl now. As proven, she went up against Captain Cold and this other guy….whatever his name is. But...the next time Snart and his pyro pal show up, you--both of you--make them sorry they ever messed with you.”

* * *

Grace walked into the Lab and looked at her brother. He turned to her. “We need a plan to get Caitlin back.”

“Why come to me? You’re the Flash.”

He exhaled. Okay, first thing first. “Look, Gracie, I’m sorry. You were right. The fight with the man in the Yellow Suit is your fight too. Mom and dad would have wanted it that way.” He sighed and put her face in his hands. “You’re my little sister. I’ve protected you my entire life. You can’t expect me to just stop.”

“I don’t, but Barry, you wanted me on this team, so you have to let me be your team mate and not just your sister.”

He nodded. “Agreed. So how do we get Caitlin?”

She exhaled. “Well, I have a plan, but you’re not going to like it.”

“Tell me what it is.”

She looked at her brother. “Okay….”

* * *

At about sundown, Grace and Barry both got a call from Joe. “Hey.”

“Okay, you're on. Good luck, you two.”

“Thanks,” Grace said.

“Barry, Grace, after tonight, everyone's gonna know that the Flash and Gaia exists. Are you ready for that?”

The siblings looked at each other. They had a silent conversation, but didn’t answer. “We don’t really have a choice, dad,” Grace told him. “Caitlin’s family.”

They both raced downtown, Grace tapped her earpiece. “You with me, Big Brother?”

“I’m here, Kiddo.”

“Now, you got the plan, right?”

“Yeah, but I don’t like it and you know Cisco’s not going--”

“I really don’t give a shit what Cisco’s gonna like or not,” she told him. “My life doesn’t revolve around a guy. Never has…never will. If he doesn’t like that sometimes I will risk my life for people I love he knows where the door is.”

Barry’s jaw slacked. “Okay…then.”

* * *

They got downtown and Flash sped past the officers and Grace landed beside him. “The Scarlet speedster and his sister.”

They both turned to him.

“Any preference on how you'd like to die? The flame or the frost?”

Neither of them spoke to him.

“Not in the mood for chitchat. Gotcha. Ready when you are.” They fired up their guns.

Barry and Grace looked at each other. They silently spoke to each other again and then looked at Cold and Heatwave. As Barry ran, Grace threw cold elements at Heatwave and then fireballs at Cold. Heatwave then fired his gun at her and from everyone else’s view it engulfed her in flames. While Cold hit Flash.

At that moment is when Iris showed up. “Oh, God…” she gasped as she watched Gaia being engulfed in flames. “Is she…”

Grace walked out of the fire, without a mark. She shook her dark hair out and looked at the man. In her ear she heard, “Gaia, go find Joe and Cisco.”

“Got it.” She put her hands up, balled them into fists and pushed off the ground, jet-propelling herself upwards into the sky. She then flew at jet speeds. “Be careful. Don’t get dead.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Where’s she going?”

“To save the S.T.A.R. Labs scientist that was kidnapped probably.”

* * *

Grace found the warehouse and landed between Joe and Cisco. She looked at her dad. “You know the plan right?”

He nodded. “However, I’m not liking it.”

“What’s the plan?”

“She’s gonna stop the bomb after we’re clear.”

“How?”

She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.”

Cisco grabbed her hand and kissed her passionately. “Just in case.”

She laughed. “Hopefully when this is done you’ll realize I pretty much know what I’m doing.”

They walked inside. Joe looked at Cisco, “Stay behind me.”

“Stay behind me,” she told her dad. She tuned into the air part of her powers and listened for any sign of a bomb.

Cisco sees Caitlin and she’s mufflingly trying to tell them to stay back. Cisco rushes up the stairs, trips the wire. Joe and Grace push past him, and Joe grabbed Caitlin and Grace blocked the blast from hurting anyone.

She groaned. “Ouch,” she moaned. “That actually hurt.”

Joe looked at her. “Princess, you okay?”

She looked down at her mid-section and saw the soot mark. “I think so.” She stiffened and listened. “I gotta go. Barry’s in trouble.”

* * *

She got back to downtown and landed next to her brother who looked like he was about to fall over. “You okay?”

“I will be.” He smiled. “Ready to play?”

She smiled. “Let’s do this.”

She took his hand and they walked together and then he sped up a little and the fire and the ice hit them both. They cried out in pain, but kept going. Grace watched as the 2 elements began to cross. She looked at her brother. “Trust me?”

“More than anything.”

A few more seconds and then she held his hand tight and jet-propelled their way out of the stream. She landed away from them and Heatwave and Captain Cold’s guns couldn’t get out of lockdown to go after them so as predicted they cancelled each other out, blasting them both across the street, on opposite sides. Grace sighed. “Flash, go get Cisco’s gun back.”

He nodded. He got the gun away from Snart.

* * *

He and Gaia left and she landed inside S.T.A.R. Labs and collapsed. Barry rushed to her. “Grace!”

Wells looked at them both. “Barry, get her to the hydra-tank that Carter bought for her.”

He nodded. They put her inside and he looked through the window provided at her. He put a hand to the glass. Cisco turned on the machine that scanned her vitals and injuries. “She has internal bleeding, a couple of broken ribs and a punctured lung.”

“What?” He looked at the screen too. “Shit. I gotta call Joe…and Carter.”

“Why Carter?”

“Because one, Grace would kill me if she found out that he didn’t know and two, he’s her best friend, Cisco. Trust me.” He sighed and called Joe first.

* * *

****-12 Hours Later…** **

Carter rushed into the Cortex and looked from Joe to Wells. “Where is she?”

Barry waved him into the back rooms. “She’s in the hydra-tank you bought for her.”

“Good. We programmed that to calibrate to whatever her injuries are.”

He nodded and smiled. “I thought so.”

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face when. Cisco walked in. “Maybe you should sleep a little. She’ll be in there for awhile longer.”

Carter shook his head. “I couldn’t sleep right now if I wanted to.”

Cisco looked at Joe and the older man just shook his head. Barry sighed. “If I hadn’t been such a jerk she wouldn’t have had the urge, this push to prove herself.”

Carter looked at his friend, “Barry, it wasn’t all you. It was everyone.” He ran a hand over his hair. “Wells brushing her off like it’s not important that she be apart of taking down the Reverse Flash. Caitlin going from her friend to ignoring her and acting like you were the only one. And Cisco.”

“Me?”

He nodded. “She lives with you. You share a bed.” He sighed. “Cisco, she’s one of the most sensitive, vulnerable, caring and sweetest people that I know. You guys share a life together. That means everything to her. And to be going home every night to a man who ignores her. Then coming here to not only her friends ignoring her and having a narrow focus, but the man she lives with doing it all over again.” He exhaled. “She’s a very emotionally attached person. Which means she leaps in with her heart, not just her feet. And when she falls she falls **_**hard**_** and deep.” He looked at Barry. “I’m going in to see her.”

Barry nodded. “Just remember she’s healing so she’s not going to look the way she is when it’s done.”

“I don’t care what she looks like. As long as she wakes up and is okay that’s all I care about.”

Cisco sighed. “Who the hell does he think he is?”

Barry looked at him curiously. “He’s her best friend. They’ve known each other for twenty years, Cisco. If you would have done the give and take she wanted you would have a better idea of who she is and why she's so important to him and...why she's stuck between you two.” He turned and walked into the room where Grace was healing.

He looked at Carter as he stood in front of the tank, staring into it at Grace. He had his worried pensive face on. But Barry could see something else too. Love. The kid that he had watched grow up with his sister really, truly loved her. “You look like someone killed your dog,” he said lightheartedly.

Frustrated, he paced away from the tank and then looked at Barry. “I hate feeling helpless! The woman I love is in there and I’m out here and I can’t do anything but…wait.”

Barry walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Look Man, I get it okay? All you wanna do is fix it, take away her pain.” He looked into his eyes. “And I know how frustrating it is to have to wait, but right now that’s all we can do.”

“But Barry…” he exhaled.

“Carter, I get it. Okay? You love her. You love her hard and all you want to do is help her, but don’t you get it? You are helping her.” He smiled when Carter looked at him. “You built her a healing chamber because you’ve embraced the fact that helping people is what us Allens are meant to do.”

“I want to hold her,” he whispered. “I want to tell her that everything will be okay, but I don’t know if she can hear me in there.”

“Try it,” Barry told him. “Try it. See if it helps.” He smiled. “You may never know hearing your voice may make it go faster for her.”

He nodded. “Right.” He walked to the tank and pressed his forehead to the cool glass. “Hey, Sweetheart.”

Barry smiled and turned to walk out when he saw Joe walking in. He shook his head. “Give him a few minutes,” he whispered. “He’s feeling helpless. The woman he loves is healing and he can’t help. He can’t..take it away.”

Carter exhaled. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m going to give this a shot anyway.” He took a breath and began, “This is hard for me, Gracie. All our lives I’ve helped you and I feel like…I feel helpless right now.” He looked into her ‘sleeping’ face. “You can’t leave me, Gracie. Not now. We made a deal…” he sniffled. “I love you. I know you don’t want me to say that, but I can’t help it. Sometimes it feels so overwhelming I have to say it to you.” He exhaled slowly. “You’ve been in my life for so long that I don’t know what it would be like without you in it. You’re the center of it all. You’re the reason why I do the things I do.” The emotional barrier broke then and he said through tears, “You can’t…go. Please, Baby, you have to get better. Joe needs you. Barry needs you. I need you. We love you so much, Gracie. Come back to us.” He put a hand to the glass and rested his forehead against the wall of the chamber and sobbed.

* * *

**-6 Hours Later…**

Inside the tank, Grace opened her eyes and looked around, the water gurgling as she took a breath. Memories of why she was there flooded back and she took stock of her pains. But she wasn’t getting anything. No pain. She swam to the top of the tank and gasped softly. She pushed her hair back and pulled herself from the tank. She perched on the edge and looked around.

She smiled when she seen Carter asleep in a metal folding chair facing the chamber. She hovered down and landed. She walked to him and bent forward, pressing her lips to his forehead. She stayed there for a moment and then pulled back. “Carter…” she whispered as his eyes fluttered open.

His eyes shot open and his face lit up with joy and relief. “Gracie…”

She smiled. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He stood and wrapped her in his arms. Holding on for dear life. “God…I thought I lost you.”

She laughed and hugged him. “Not yet. We had a deal remember.” She smiled and looked up at him. “We either go together or you go before me.”

He smiled. “That we do.” He kissed her forehead.

“You’re all wet now,” Grace said pulling back.

“I don’t care.”

“Let’s get you out of those clothes and into some dry ones.”

She gasped. “What time is it? I didn’t miss Iris’ move day, did I?”

He shook his head. “No. After you change we can head over there.”

* * *

They got to Joe’s place and Grace stepped out of Carter’s car and headed inside, with Carter right behind her. She opened the door and called out, “Hey, I didn’t miss anything, did I?”

Grace watched as Joe and Barry’s expressions went from surprise to joy to relief before they came to her and hugged her. Barry wrapped his arms around her and held on. “Oh, God, Gracie…you scared me.”

She smiled. “You didn’t think you would get rid of me that quickly, did you?”

“God, I hope not.”

Joe smiled and went to her, taking her face in his hands. “Sweetheart.” He kissed her forehead. “God, you scared me.”

She laughed softly. “I’m sorry, dad. I didn’t mean to. The bomb did more damage than I thought.”

“Hey, a little help here!” Eddie called from the top of the stairs.

Both Carter and Barry rushed up the stairs. “Okay, all right,” Eddie muttered as he walked down the stairs backwards.

“I think that's it.”

“This better be it.”

“Well, like you said, you're ten minutes away, so if you forget something…”

“Okay.” Iris noticed the emotion in his face. She laughed softly. “Dad.”

“He was the same way when I moved out.”

Joe sniffled. “Of course I was. You’re my girls.”

They said goodbye to Iris and then Carter plopped down in one of the chairs and Grace sat on the arm of the couch as Barry sat. “You okay?” Joe asked him.

“Mm-hmm. How about you?”

“It was bound to happen sometime, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Want to order some pizza and watch the ball game?”

“I’m for that,” Carter said. “I’ll pay.”

Barry smirked. “Make it pizzas and you're on.”

They laughed. Barry looked at the TV. “You know, if you ever need somebody to come and eat your food, I'm there. Besides, the laundry machines in my building have been broken for, like, a month, so…”

“I don't know why you moved into that deathtrap in the first place, since you still got a perfectly good room here.”

“You said you were turning it into a gym.”

“We all know I'm not turning it into a gym.”

“Yeah.”

Grace slid down between her brother and the couch and smiled. “Yeah, that’s what Mike said when Carter moved out too.”

Carter scoffed. “He’s got two perfectly good guests rooms besides my room that he could do that with he if he really wanted.” He smirked. “My mom loves the fact that he’s got a little weight on him anyway.”

Joe laughed. “I bet. Besides, you got me running around enough as it is.”

“You know, it is getting hard to hide the blasting in and out of my apartment at all hours of the night from my neighbors. I suppose it would make sense for me to move back in. I mean, I am a millennial. That is what we do.”

They laughed.

“Well, don't do it on my account. I'll be fine on my own.”

“Oh, yeah, me too. Sure.” Barry sped off and came back in. “All right, Roomie. You order the pizzas, I’m gonna unpack.”

Carter and Grace laughed as Joe said, “Uh-huh. I’m gonna help. I’m gonna enjoy this.”


	18. The Sound and the Fury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get interesting when Hartley Rathaway comes to town as the Pied Piper.

Grace groaned when she heard Cisco’s cell phone shrilling. She pushed at him, but he mumbled something and rolled over. She sighed and answered herself, “Hello?” She listened. “Just a second.” She pushed at Cisco. “Wake up. Your boss is on the phone.”

He took the phone and answered, “Hello?” He listened. “Okay. I’ll be right there.”

She looked at the clock on the nightstand and decided she mind as well get up. She pushed the covers back and walked out into the kitchen. She began making coffee and yawned as she filled the carafe. She made the coffee and started it up. She ran a hand through her hair and went to grab her phone. She walked back out as she heard the shower fire up.

Her heart stopped when she saw an email from Josh. What could he want? She wondered. She tapped the email and looked. “Huh.”

“What?”

She looked over her shoulder at Cisco. “One of my exes is getting married.”

“And he sent you an e-Vite why?”

She looked at the bride. “Because it’s Jessica Owens.”

“Who is that?”

She poured herself a cup of coffee. “The Queen Bee of Central City High.”

“Ahh,” he muttered. He grabbed his phone from his charger and waved. “Bye. See you later.”

“Bye.” She sighed. How did they get here? Over the last week or so they went from arguing to talking civilly. Which she guessed she was a step in the right direction. She sighed and got into the shower.

* * *

Grace looked at the lay out that her assistant had placed. She smiled. “Great job, Audrey, but uh, switch Kari’s story photo with Mason’s and you should have the right placement.”

“Are you sure? Mason wanted it that way.”

“Well, first of all, Mason Bridge shouldn’t be telling you shit about how to do your job and secondly, unless I give you the instructions don’t listen to anyone else.”

The woman nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Grace looked up when an older man walked in. “Eric. Hey.”

Eric wore glasses, had graying white hair and wore professor professional sweaters most of the time. He smiled at Grace. “Hello, Grace. Hi, Audrey.”

“Mr. Larkin,” Audrey said before she slipped out.

Eric looked at his young director. “I wanted to speak to you about an…” he glanced at the post-it he wrote the name on. “Iris West.”

She nodded and leaned back in her chair. “Yes, Sir.”

“Now, when we talked before um….you said she was your sister, however, I’m wondering how that could be when she looks like this,” he said. “Now, I’m not trying to discount the possibility, but uh…how?”

Grace laughed. “She’s actually my brother’s best friend and my foster sister. Her dad’s the guy who took us in when…”

He nodded. “Ahh…got it. So, I called your dad’s place a few days ago, but she hasn’t gotten back to me.”

She smiled. “Well, I’ll be going to dad’s after work for dinner so if you want I can see why Iris hasn’t called.”

He smiled. “That’d be great. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” she said.

* * *

Grace walked into S.T.A.R. Labs as the trio was giving Barry instructions in the field. Wells was giving him instructions on how to get members of the Royal Flush gang.

Cisco looked over his shoulder. “Hey. How was work?”

“Good. Iris is about to get good news,” she said sitting on the edge of the desk where he sat. Barry came in moments later and Grace hugged him. “Great job, Big Brother.”

He hugged her. “Did you get caught up?”

“I did,” she said. “Thanks for understanding.”

“You’re very welcome,” he said. “I missed you out there though. We could’ve done it a lot cooler.”

She laughed and kissed his cheek as Cisco greeted him. He got congratulations from everyone. They even took a picture together. He turned to Grace. “Going to dinner at Joe’s?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I need to ask Iris something anyway.”

He walked up to her and kissed her softly. “Will I see you later?”

She nodded. “Of course.”

“I will definitely be there.” They said goodbye to everyone and then left.

* * *

Barry and Grace walked into the West house and saw Iris was there packing up a box. She pulled her coat off. She hung it up while her brother threw his on the couch. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“You do realize the whole point of moving out is not being at home anymore, right?” Barry teased.

“Ha-ha-ha. I forgot a few things.”

“As dad predicted you would,” Grace added slipping her coat off.

Iris looked at her sister and shook her head. The girl was wearing a black dress with a brown blazer over and her legs looked amazing. “Seriously, I wish I had your legs.”

Grace groaned and rolled her eyes. “I’m not doing this again,” she said. “Bar, do something.”

Barry laughed softly. “Iris, your legs are fan--I mean, fine.”

She looked up at Barry. “So... how is it living back at the house?” Before he could answer, Joe called out to him.

“Hey, Bar?”

“Yo,”

“Babe... spaghetti a la me. You sure you don't want to stay for dinner?” Joe asked.

“Thanks, but Eddie is painting all day and I swore that I would help. Although, I'm really just going to do that thing where I get a little paint on my hair and on my nose.”

They laughed. “I never understood your aversion to painting.”

“Oh, Gracie, it’s not an aversion. She just refuses to do anything that’ll get her dirty,” Barry told her before Iris slapped at him.

“Oh, right. Almost forgot about that,” Grace teased.

“Oh, hey,” Joe said looking at Iris. “someone from Central City Picture News called you the other day, I left the number on the fridge.”

“What? Why didn't you tell me?”

“Chill! Just did.”

She rushed into the kitchen and called them back quickly. Grace looked at her guys and said, “Well, that explains why she hasn’t called Eric back.”

“Who’s Eric?” Joe asked.

“The Editor of the paper. Ultimately, my boss.”

He nodded. “Right.” He looked at Barry, smiling proudly. “Hey, I heard that some members of the Royal Flush Gang are headed to prison.”

Iris screamed happily.

“Is that a good scream or a bad scream?” Joe asked.

“Good! So good!” Iris exclaimed as she walked out into the dining room. “I just got offered a job as a reporter at Central City Picture News.”

“That's awesome!” Barry said excitedly, happy for her.

“The editor's a fan of my blog!”

“That is amazing.”

“Oh, my God!” Iris exclaimed.

“Oh, God,” Joe said as he sipped his wine.

Iris hugged Grace. “Did you…?”

Grace shook her head. “Not really, no.” She looked at her. “Eric had asked me if I knew any good reporters and I mentioned you, he took it from there.” She hugged her. “Trust me, Honey, if you got the job it was on your own merit, not because you’re my sister.”

The 2 women hugged.

* * *

Grace got the text message to meet everyone at the Lab as she was heading to work. So she quickly shot a text to Audrey telling her she was going to be late and then headed in the direction of the Lab. She got there and looked at everyone. “What’s up?” She looked at Doctor Wells. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Thank you, Miss Allen.”

“What’s going on?”

“Well, Harrison believes he knows who broke into his place,” Barry told her.

“Who?”

“Hartley Rathaway,” Cisco said bitterly.

Grace looked at Cisco. “Wait a minute…you mean that douche of a dude that you told me about? The one that predicted you’d be fired because apparently he didn’t like your fashion sense on the first day?”

He nodded. “Yep. That’s him.”

“Hartley Rathaway possesses one of the finest scientific minds I've ever encountered.”

“Any ties to Rathaway Industries?” Joe asked.

“His grandfather founded the company, his father expanded it, and Hartley here was set to inherit the throne.”

“What happened?”

“He came out to his parents. Old money, old values,” Caitlin told them.

“They were estranged when we met, but, brilliant. I couldn't have built the particle accelerator without him.”

“You guys have never even mentioned his name,” Barry said.

“That's because Hartley had a challenging personality,” Caitlin replied.

“What she means is he was mostly a jerk. But, every once in a while, he could be a dick,” Cisco said, wrapping an arm around Grace’s waist.

Joe laughed.

“Let's just say that Hartley, like many outliers, had trouble relating to his peers.”

“Yes, but he was always your favorite,” Caitlin reminded him.

“The chosen one,” Cisco said bitterly. He saw the look in Harrison’s eyes and explained, “He referred to himself like that.”

Grace smiled and kissed his cheek.

“So if you two were so close, why would he target you?” Joe asked the obvious question.

“Hartley left S.T.A.R. Labs about a year ago after we had a... a disagreement.”

“About what?” Joe asked.

“Look, don't worry. We'll stop him. I won't let him hurt you, any of you. Let's get back to my lab, all right?” He turned to Grace. “Come with me?”

She nodded. “Right behind you. Just give me a minute.”

Cisco looked at Hartley’s picture as he said, “I could've gone my whole life without seeing that jerk again.”She headed out of the lab and headed to CCPN.

* * *

Grace rushed into the offices where CCPN were and rushed to the long table that sat in the far back. She noticed Eric was taking his seat, impressed with Mason making an appearance. She saw Iris and stopped. She hugged her. “Hey, Sis.”

Iris looked up. “Hey! Love the skirt!” she said and squeezed her fingers.

Mason looked across the table to Grace. “So, is ‘Sis’ just something you guys say?”

Iris shook her head while Grace answered, “We grew up together, Mason. She’s my brother’s best friend.”

“Not to mention we grew up across the hall from each other.”

She laughed. “There is that.” She looked up at Eric. “So sorry. I was trying to not be late.”

Eric laughed. “Grace, you’re never late.”

“She’s late when she meets me.”

“Well, if I actually found any of your concerns to be valid I might actually show up on time, Mason.”

Eric looked at everyone at the table. “Everyone, welcome Iris West, our new cub.”

Iris greeted everyone with a simple hi.

“Anyone want to volunteer to be her mama bear?” When he didn’t get any volunteers he looked at Mason. “Mason, you picked a bad day to actually show up.”

“I don't nanny,” Mason protested.

“I lost the ability to make a joke back in '05. Today, you do. Deadlines. All new stories are due on my desk at the end of the day.”

“Oh, actually, I had an idea for a piece. There's this program in Keystone that helps battered women get back on their feet.”

“Ah, that sounds really great, West. Actually, any thoughts on a piece about The Flash, something you haven't written about yet, something new?”

Grace instantly knew what this was about. It wasn’t actually about hiring a new reporter at all. He just wanted to be the first one to have a story on the Flash.

“Um, no. Not currently.”

“Nothing on that sister of his?”

“No. Not right now.”

“All right. Sally forth, everyone. Sally forth.”

Grace stood from the table and stopped Iris. “Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t volunteer. We can’t ‘Mama Bear’ family. However, since you got stuck with the Ogre, if you need anything at all just let me know.” She pointed to a closed door. “My office is right there.” She hugged her. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I gotta meet dad and Barry.”

Iris laughed. “Okay. Thanks Grace. I appreciate this.”

“You’re welcome,” she said. She hugged her. “I gotta run. I promised I’d help Barry with something to do with one of his cases.” She looked at Mason. “Hey, Pulitzer.”

“What?”

“I need your pick for the picture you want to run with your story and if it’s again too large you’ll be doing it all over again so you may want to think about that, because we both know much you hate doing extra work.”

“Whatever.”

* * *

Grace walked into Barry’s lab and smiled at both guys. She looked at his setup. “Ooh. A demonstration.” She looked at her brother. “Please, Professor.”

Barry laughed. “Yeah, wouldn’t happen.”

“You’d be cute wearing tweed that had the patches on the elbows.”

He laughed. “Shut up.” He looked at Joe. “Everything has a natural frequency.” He tinged the glass in front of him. “And since sound is expressed as a vibration, if the pitch of the sound matches the natural vibration frequency of an object, then…” he walked over to a machine that emitted a high pitched frequency when he turned it up. The glass shattered and they all laughed.

“So, you're saying that can happen to anything, Not just glass?”

“Oh, yeah. I think that's absolutely what happened to the windows at Wells' house. He's using some kind of sonic technology.”

“I'm getting this feeling that Wells is hiding something...about what's going on with this Rathaway character.”

Grace nodded. “I got that too.” She put her hands on her hips. “Call it woman’s intuition.” She nodded. “But he is.”

“Don’t touch that!” Barry said as Joe attempted to touch a device in front of him.

“Yeah, I’ve been getting that feeling too, but not just about Rathaway. I mean, by the sounds of it I probably would have hated the guy.”

“I mean, it sounds like this Hartley guy was a pill before he went all super villain, so I...I get why he never mentioned him.”

“Like he never mentions his girlfriend that got killed.”

“He had a girlfriend?”

Joe nodded. “No,” Barry said, shocked. “How do you know about her?”

“He's taking up a big part of our lives. I wanted to know more about him.”

Barry seemed offended. “I mean, if you want to know more about him, you could just ask me.”

“Sounds like you don't know him as well as you think.”

“Well, you could have asked Grace. She’s known him longer.”

“Actually you can’t. He’s never really talked to me.” She folded her arms over her chest. “I always got the feeling that he doesn’t like me much.”

“Joe. Multiple 911 calls,” Eddie said, coming into the lab. “Rathaway Industries is under attack. Sector cars are en route.”

Both Barry and Grace’s phone begin buzzing. Barry answered when Grace did. “Hey. Barry, it's Caitlin.”

“I think I know why you're calling.”

They both quickly dressed. She flew out his window and he took off. They got to Rathaway and noticed that some guy was using sonic waves of sound to cause destruction. Barry looked up as she landed. “As part of your elements you have sound, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

He nodded. “Good. You take the lead. I’ll follow you.”

“Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do….”

“Get down on the ground!” An officer said through a bullhorn.

Rathaway didn’t listen and blasted him too. Barry sped up to him and knocked him over. “It's over, Rathaway.”

Rathaway looked up at him. “You know my name. I know some names too. Caitlin Snow. Cisco Ramon. Harrison Wells. I can hear the radio waves emanating from your suit. About 1900 megahertz. Is that them on the other end, listening? Are they gonna hear you die?”

“No. They're going to hear you get your ass kicked,” Barry told him confidently.

“Okay.” He blasted him and knocked Barry into a glass structure.

Grace then flew in feet first and kicked him in the back. He fell and slid across the ground. She landed on the ground. “He didn’t say he was going to be the one to kick your ass.”

He turned and looked her up and down. He chuckled. “You’re too pretty to be doing this.”

“And you’re an arrogant jackass, but we’ve all got our problems.”

He attempted to blast her but he stopped when he realized that no sound was happening. “What are you doing?”

She walked to him, keeping one hand at her side. “Taking away your greatest power which then only makes you a shitty ass scientist.”

He attempted to blast her with sound again, but it didn’t work. She then walked up to him and punched him in the face. He fell to the ground and screamed in pain. She looked over her shoulder. “Flash.”

“Gladly, Gaia.” He snapped cuffs on him. “Looks like you're not as smart as everyone says.”

“Smart enough to have figured out who Harrison Wells really is. You see, I know his secret.”

Gaia looked at him. “Everyone’s got secrets, Stupid. At least I didn’t get my ass kicked by a girl.”

* * *

They took him back to S.T.A.R. Labs and as they stepped out of the elevator Hartley said, “Being scooped up by a guy clad in head-to-toe leather is a long-time fantasy of mine, so thanks.”

Grace scoffed. “Glad we could help.”

They walked into the main part of the building and Hartley seen everyone. “Well, well, well, the gang's all here. You've lasted a lot longer than I would've thought, Cisco.”

“And you didn't last ten seconds against my girlfriend.”

Hartley laughed. “Your girlfriend? Right.” He looked at him and then at Grace, then back at Cisco. “Not even you have that good of luck, Cisco.”

Grace slapped him upside the head. “Stop being an asshole.”

He rubbed his head and then looked at Cisco. “I was thinking of calling myself Pied Piper.”

“Hey! I assign the nicknames around here. Although that one's not bad.”

“Caitlin...never did get that wedding invite.”

Grace slapped him again while Barry said, “Shut the hell up!”

Cisco pushed at him. “Stay in front of me.”

“The scanner is detecting foreign metallic objects in your ears. Take 'em out.”

“I can't. I suffered head trauma when S.T.A.R. Labs exploded. My hearing was severely damaged. Without these, I'm in pain you can't imagine.” He seen Caitlin and Grace walking in. Grace was still dressed as Gaia. “We all lost something that night. Ha. Very clever re-purposing the anti-proton cavities into confinement cells. Wells' idea, I'm sure.”

“It was mine, actually.”

Hartley and Cisco exchanged jabs in Spanish. Caitlin looked at the guy. “Hartley, don't make this more difficult than it has to be.”

Grace glared at him. “Look, Hartley, either take them out or I’ll forcefully remove them.” She folded her arms over her chest and glared at him. “Your choice.”

He looked at Caitlin and said something in French to her. Grace crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down. Hartley looked at her. “What?”

“I have to say, with your arrogance I was expecting someone else.” She smirked.

“Oh, yeah, you think you got me figured out?”

She lifted her chin defiantly. “It’s not difficult.” She stepped forward. “You look down on others who you deem beneath you because in reality it hides the pain of being rejected by the two people who are always supposed to love you…your parents. You crave acceptance. And you looked at Dr. Wells as that person who could have given you that acceptance, but it didn’t happen that way. So now, because you think you’ve been wronged you’re lashing out at everyone who hurt you.” She got closer. “I hate to break it to you but acting like a major dick isn’t going to heal you. It won’t help that pain you’re feeling and it won’t make anyone accept you at all. What it will do is get you attitude and possibly a beat down.”

Hartley opened his mouth to say something, but Wells stopped him. “Enough, Hartley,” Wells said. “Give us a minute.”

“See you soon, Cisco.”

“Doubt it!”

Grace walked back to the Cortex.

* * *

They all waited for Harrison to return. He came wheeling into the lab and saw them all waiting for him. “I assume you were all listening. Well, Hartley was telling the truth. I have not been honest with you. With any of you. The accelerator...Hartley warned me that there was indeed a chance that the accelerator could explode.”

Barry looked at his friends and his sister. She looked like she was about to either cry or punch something.

“His data did not show 100% certainty, just that there was a risk, but it was a real risk. And yet I made the decision that the reward...that... everything we could learn and everything we could achieve, that all of that... simply outweighed that risk. I'm sorry.”

Caitlin slowly rose. “Then the next time you choose to put our lives, and the lives of the people that we love, at risk, I'll expect a heads up.” She walked away.

“You…you…knew!” Grace exclaimed. “You knew it could do what it did?! And you didn’t stop it!”

“Gracie--”

“No!” she yelled. “I almost died!” She charged toward the man in the wheelchair. “I almost died….” she sobbed. “My body was…was…literally shutting…down,” she said her words choked by her tears. “I was in…so much…pain,” she said as tears streamed down her face, “I could hear the doctors telling dad that…that…there was nothing…nothing they could do….” She took a deep, shaky breath. “I could hear Iris sobbing and dad was actually thinking about telling the doctors to shut my machines off.” She looked at him and said as she wiped her tears. “And now you’re sitting there telling me that if you hadn’t listened to the arrogant scientist part of you I wouldn’t have gone through all that? Caitlin wouldn’t have lost Ronnie? And.and…and all those people wouldn’t have died or gone through what they did?”

“Yes,” he said softly, remorsefully.

“Well, I’m sorry but I don’t accept that.” She slapped her chest. “I don’t accept that because you not only destroyed your life, but Cisco and Caitlin’s too. They had promising futures until your hubris got ahead of you and ruined it all. I’m not entirely sure I will ever forgive you.” She walked off.

Barry shook his head at Cisco who was going to go after her. “Give her a little while and then go comfort her. She’s so hurt and pissed right now she’d lash out on you and that little progress you’ve made will be gone.” He looked at Wells. ““After the explosion, when everyone else left you...Caitlin and Cisco stood by you. You owe them more than an apology.”

“They might soon get more than that what with Hartley so intent on sending me to the next world.”

“What are...that wouldn't make it right with them.” He walked to him. “You broke their trust. Our trust.” He walked away.

* * *

Grace walked into Jitters and looked around for her brother and sister. She found them and headed for their table. As she came closer she heard Iris say, “He won the Pulitzer. Twice, I think.”

“Actually, I’ll give him once, but twice I’m still not convinced.” She hugged her and then kissed Barry’s cheek.

Barry laughed. “Oh. Good for him.”

Iris and Grace laughed. Iris looked at Barry. “Thanks, Barry. Having someone believe in me, it's, um... a small... really, really big thing.”

Grace smiled. “Of course, Iris. That’s what we do.”

Barry took Grace’s hand and squeezed. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Yep. But I want something sweet with chocolate.”

Iris knew her eating habits and knew Grace only ate chocolate when she was upset. “Ooh. You and Cisco still fighting?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I’m not exactly sure what we’re doing, but I gave him an ultimatum last night--stop treating me like crap or I’m packing my bags.” She looked at Iris. “Don’t listen to Mason Bridge. I’m sorry, but winning a Pulitzer may win you recognition but allowing said recognition to go to your head doesn’t not prove anything except that you’re an asshole. And trust me, Mason Bridge is an asshole.”

Barry and Iris laughed. “Don’t hold back,” Iris said chuckling.

“Never will with you guys.”

As Iris went to get coffee for herself, Barry’s phone rang and he answered.

* * *

Cisco came to awhile later and Grace smiled. “Hi.”

He smiled and said groggily. “Hey.”

Barry laughed. “Welcome back, Mr. Ramon.”

“Ooh. Oh, man. Caitlin?” He immediately sat up.

“Hey. She's fine.”

Caitlin walked up. “You need to rest. You have a concussion. You're lucky.”

“Please tell me you got him.”

They shook their heads. “I guess the attack on his family's company was a fake out so we'd catch him.”

“And give him direct access to S.T.A.R. Labs.”

“Why?”

“Probably to prove his information correct,” Grace added.

“I should've known he was up to something. This is my fault,” Cisco said, beating himself up.

“Hey, man. This is on me, too. I shouldn't have left before…”

“This is no one's fault but mine. I earned the blame... I'm not interested in sharing it. Hartley doesn't think I've paid for my crimes. And he's right. He won't stop until I do.”

“Where are you going?”

“To earn back your trust,” Wells said.

* * *

Wells makes his Mea Culpa to the city and apologizes for what had happened. As they all sat inside the Lab waiting, Hartley tapped into their PA system and taunted Wells, Grace and Barry. “Nice gambit, Harrison. But this isn't over.”

“Hartley, what do you want? What do you want, Hartley? I already gave my mea culpa today.”

“The city already hated you. You don't think I noticed that press conference was a pathetic bishop sacrifice? No, no, no. I've played with you too many times to let you get away with that. This is between you, me, the Silencer--”

“My name’s not Silencer, asshole, it’s Gaia.”

“Oh, sorry, and The Flash.”

“You don't want to play for those kind of stakes with me, Hartley.”

“Actually, I really do. What do you say? One last game of chess?”

“You and I both know that the winner of the game is the one who makes the next-to-last mistake, and you clearly have a move in mind.”

“You're right. And I'm already at the board. So why don't you move your precious scarlet knight...and your Queen…while I take out a few pawns.”

He shot his hands up and the cars stopped, tires squealing.

Back at the lab, Barry and Grace were dressed. “All right. All right, Cisco, where do we go?” Barry asked.

“I can't trace the signal. He could be sending his messages from anywhere.”

An idea popped into Grace’s head. “I have an idea.” She looked at Barry. “Remember when we were kids and we would sneak attack…”

Barry smiled. “And what better way than burrowing under ground.”

She nodded. She looked at Cisco. “Baby, look for seismic activity. Maybe the vibrations from the sound is causing tremors.”

Harrison smiled. “Nice, Miss Allen. What’s the plan?”

“I’m going to use my abilities against him and sneak attack him while he’s distracted with Barry.”

“How?” Caitlin asked.

“I control all of Earth’s elements, he only controls one sub-element of earth.” She smirked. “It’s like bringing a water pistol to war with you. He has no chance.”

* * *

They got to the bridge and Hartley fired at them. While the duo fought Hartley, Cisco discovered what Hartley downloaded. “I figured out what Hartley stole from S.T.A.R. Labs, why he let himself get caught.”

“Which brings us to the “uh-oh.”

“He has all the data on Barry's molecular scans.”

“Why would he want that?” Caitlin asked.

“He can get Barry's frequency,” Wells answered. “Barry, you need to get out of there! You need to get out of there immediately!”

Cisco tapped the comm button for Grace’s earpiece. “Baby.”

“Yeah?”

“We have a problem. Hartley downloaded all of Barry molecular scans. Which means--”

“He can tap into Barry’s frequency,” she interjected. She got up to the bridge and saw her brother writhing in pain. She landed. “Hey, Jackass!”

“Ahh…the Queen.” He glared at her. “I gotta say--”

She lifted her hand and closed her fist and he went silent. She walked to him. “Now you listen to me you insufferable jackass. Leave my friends alone and get the hell out of my City or I promise you you’ll regret it.”

He attempted to hit her and she blocked it. She lifted her hand and a tremor began. She glared at him. “I can cause vibrations too. But you see while you only have one sub-element compared to me I can use the air around me and amplify that ringing you hear in your ears.” She said into her comm. “Doctor Wells, I know I said I didn’t trust you anymore, but I do. Just help--”

“I’m on it, Miss Allen. Just keep holding him off, Grace.”

“No problem.”

The frequency was much higher than what Hartley could stand and it ruined his entire plan. Grace went to Barry and helped him up as Hartley writhed on the ground.

* * *

They got Hartley put away in a cell and Grace said she was headed home to get some sleep. She had a midnight meeting with Carter and some financial groups that she needed to be present at. As she walked out, Cisco called out, “See you at home.”

She nodded. “Okay.” She cleared her throat. “By everybody.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, guys after some careful thought, Cisco and Grace's break up will happen in the next chapter. I came to the realization that was dragging it out and I didn't want to do that to myself or you, so...I'm sorry for those who love them together, but this has to be done.


	19. Crazy For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Flash meets Peek-A-Boo aka Shawna Baez
> 
> Cisco's guilt about Ronnie's death has him making reckless decisions...
> 
> Cisco and Grace finally hit their breaking point...and in a way break it off amicably.

Grace sat at the dining room table inside the loft, her laptop--with a Skype call to Carter pulled up. She was seated at the table papers all around and her other laptop cued up to the project they were discussing with their clients. She was trying to explain to them that something wouldn’t be able to work if they did it that. She shook her head. “No. That won’t work.”

“Why not?” Karen, a pretty slender blond said.

“Because after I finish the code for it to go into the software it’ll mess up the font.”

“So change the font,” Karen countered.

“I can’t. Your boss wanted that font. If you have a problem with that then take it up with him, but I’m not adding anything to the software because you think flirting with my business partner will get you somewhere with me.”

Karen muttered something, it was a term that should never be used in public and Carter shut her down instantly. “That’s enough. I will not sit here and allow you to insult my partner. If you have a problem with the work order then take it up with Mr. Manning himself. But I will not sit here and allow you to speak to Grace in such a horrible manner, am I clear?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now let’s get back to the business on hand.” He looked at Grace. “Could we add a marketing tool and maybe a bookkeeping tool?”

“Yes,” she answered. “Absolutely.”

“Good. When do you project that the software will be finished to start testing?”

“Um…” she turned slightly to the desk calendar she bought and calculated her work time, with CCPN and answered, “I could have it ready…the first week of April. Say…April tenth.”

Carter looked at his own calendar and nodded. “That sounds about right.” He looked at one of the older men at the table. “What do you think, Harold?”

Harold nodded. “That sounds wonderful.”

She smiled. “Great.”

Carter dismissed everyone and then looked at Grace. “How are you?”

She nodded. “I’m good.”

He waited for the door to close and everyone to be out of the conference room before he looked into the screen and stared at her. “Really?”

She nodded. “I promise, Carter, if I wasn’t you’d be the first one to know.”

“Good. Any residual effects with what happened awhile ago?”

She shook her head and gave him a sincere smile. “I promise you.” She glanced at her watch. “Oh, shit.”

“What the matter?”

“I’m late!” she exclaimed. “I told dad I’d meet him and Barry at the prison.”

“The prison?” he asked. “Why?”

“I’m not sure.” She blew him a kiss. “I miss you.”

“Miss you more.”

* * *

“Why are you complaining?” Barry asked as he and Grace walked into the Prison doors. “I thought you said you had to deal with that Mason Bridge guy all day or something.”

Just like Barry flashed his CSI badge, she flashed her reporter/photographer badge. They got access into the prison and he carried his case in to do what he needed to do inside the cell that the prisoner had broken out of. “Sorta,” she answered. “At least until lunch. By the way, Iris is doing great, even if Mason’s bitching about her every chance someone gives him. Eric has asked me to keep an eye on her, even though Mason’s her den mama.”

He laughed. “You guys have weird names for that kinda stuff.”

“I know,” she smiled, then shrugged.

They both walked in and Grace stayed by the door while Barry did his thing. Grace looked down at the floor. “What’s that black stuff on the floor?”

“What?”

She knelt down, still at a safe distance. “There,” she pointed. “What is that?”

Barry picked it up and looked at it. “I have…no idea,” he put some into a tube and then looked around for more. “I think this is how he got out.”

“What do you mean?” Grace asked looking at him.

“Maybe this stuff has a little bit of DNA in it and we can figure out where he is, who he is.”

A few moments later, Joe walked in. He smiled and kissed her cheek.“Good morning, Beautiful.” He looked at Barry. “Hey.”

“Morning, dad.”

“The security cameras in half the prison are shut down. Then Clay Parker, according to this data log, who was still locked in his cell, somehow vanishes.”

“Not completely. Grace found this,” he said.

“What's that?”

“It's some kind of organic particulate residual. She found it on the floor in here, just outside the cell, out in the hallway. Trail led me all the way outside.”

Grace gasped when she seen their father walk into the cell. “Daddy…”

“Dad,” he said at the same time. He took Grace’s hand and Henry held both of their hands.

Grace is crying and she really doesn’t care as she lays her head on her dad’s shoulder and he kisses her forehead. “So... Word around here is, Parker pulled a Shawshank?” Henry asked.

“Yep, and none of the other prisoners heard or saw anything.”

“Well, they wouldn't talk to you about it.”

“Leaves us with not a lot to go on.”

“Well, if there's anyone who can figure out how Parker got out of here, it's you and your sister, Son.”

Grace smiled.

“Come on, Allen, let's go.”

“Duty calls.”

Grace kissed his cheek. “Bye, daddy. Love you.”

Henry turned his head and smiled at her. “Love you too, Princess…to the moon and the stars.”

Her breath hitched as her tears flowed steadily now. She hadn’t heard that in almost 15 years. Barry looked at Joe. “So, my dad just happened to come by?”

“The guard owed me a favor.”

Extremely moved, Barry said, “Thank you.”

Grace inhaled and walked to Joe. “Thanks, dad,” she said between tears.

* * *

Barry, Grace and Joe go to S.T.A.R. Labs to see if they can find anything out. They analyze the particulate. “Not even Barry's cells move this fast. I've never seen anything like it.”

“So Clay Parker is a meta-human?”

Grace shook her brunette curls. “No. That’s not possible.”

“Why do you say that, Sweetheart?”

“Because the blast didn’t make it that far so unless he was born this way and it’s just now showing effects I’d say someone broke into the prison to break him out.”

Barry turned and looked at his sister. “Hmm. I’m impressed.”

Her smile widened. “Hey, mom always told me I wasn’t just a pretty face.”

“That you aren’t, Sis.”

Wells smiled. “And again, Miss Allen is correct. The particulate residue Barry gathered at Iron Heights does contain Clay Parker's DNA, but also DNA of a woman.”

Barry turned to Cisco who was sitting at the desk. “Run her DNA against the CCPD criminal database. See if you get a match.”

“Yahtzee.”

“Is that going to be your next catchphrase? You say it all the time.”

He smiled. “Maybe. Her name's Shawna Baez. Mostly petty crimes, and this girl likes to party, apparently. Long list of disorderly conducts at local bars.”

“Oh, this explains so much.” Grace smiled and crossed her arms over her chest.

“What?” Caitlin asked.

“That criminal bad girls are even more desperate to keep their guy than girls who are like me.”

Joe smiled at her. “So I'm guessing we find her, we find Clay Parker,” Joe said. Barry?”

Grace nodded. “That would be my guess.” She looked at her dad. “Try low-rent places. Motels, not so safe apartments. That sort of thing. They’ll be laying low because of you guys.”

Joe nodded with a smile. “Bye, Sweetheart.”

“Bye, dad. Love you.”

“In the meantime, let's track these particulates and see how they work.”

“I'll be right with you guys.” Cisco walked over to Grace and took her hand. “If I tell you something you have to promise to not say a word to anyone.”

Her eyes squinted skeptically as she folded her arms over her chest. “Okay. What?”

He proceeds to tell her what Hartley Rathaway told him about Ronnie. To say her mind was blown was an understatement. “Cisco, are you hearing yourself right now?”

He squinted his eyes curiously. She sighed and ran a hand through her semi-curly brown hair. “How do you not know that he’s just saying that to get the jump on you? I mean, he was the equivalent of a bully. He might be just doing this to--”

“I’m not stupid!”

“I never said you were!” she countered. “Look, Cisco, I’m trying to help here. I don’t want to fight with you.” She sighed. “Fine. No, I wouldn’t do it. The risk is too great. True you may get information on Ronnie, but you could also set yourself up to get seriously hurt and then he’s on the run. So, no, I wouldn’t do it.” With that she turned on her heel and walked out.

* * *

Grace walked into Jitters and saw Iris and Barry walking to the counter. Ever since she had seen her dad at the prison, she’d been feeling great. She walked up and excitedly said, “Hi!”

Iris laughed softly. “Hi.” She looked from her to Barry. “What are the smiles about?”

“We saw our dad today,” Barry told her. “No glass, no phones. Just us and him, face-to-face. Joe arranged it.”

She smiled and they slid into their seats. “That must have been amazing, Barry.”

“Yeah. I really needed it.” He took Grace’s hand. “We both did.”

“I'm sure he needed it, too. Were you there investigating the breakout? Mm-hmm. That is a big story. Which I am not a part of. My editor wants me writing about The Central City Dynamic Duo, and only them.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“I don't know. I would just like to be thought of as more than their PR flack. I mean, if I don't write something soon, I think I might lose my job.”

“Hey, no. We will find you a great story to write about. Together. Okay?”

“Barry’s right. We will. I promise you you won’t lose your job.”

Barry smiled. “You know I'm always here for you.”

“I know,” she said with a smile.

Grace smiled as she watched them. They seriously had no idea.

* * *

Barry, Grace and Joe sat in the visiting room at Iron Heights. Henry wanted to tell them what he had found out. “What do you mean you've been asking around?”

“Do you know a Marcus Stockheimer?”

Barry handed him the phone. “Sure, he's some mid-level gangster. He works mainly on the south side.”

“Word is, Clay Parker was a runner for Marcus. When Clay got pinched, Marcus lost a lot of money. Apparently Marcus doesn't like losing money.”

Grace leaned in and said. “So, Marcus would want his money. He’s not going to let Clay just leave town without paying him the money he owes him.”

He smiled. “From what I'm told, if you're a member of the Stockheimer crew, you get out, first thing you do is pay him a visit or suffer the consequences.”

Barry said into the receiver and looked at his dad. “All right. No more playing cop. Promise me.”

“I hear you.”

* * *

Barry and Grace walked into the Cortex laughing. Caitlin looked up and hummed, “Mm. I was analyzing the particulates that Clay Parker and Shawna Baez left behind, and I found something very interesting.”

She brought up a screen. Grace analyzed it. “They merged.”

“What?” Barry asked.

“When Clay's cells come into contact with Shawna's, they adopt her properties.”

They watched as Caitlin started biting her bottom lip.“Something bothering you?” Barry asked.

“Why would you ask that?”

“You're doing that biting your lower lip thing that you do when something's bothering you.”

She cleared her throat. “I'm fine.”

“Okay,” Grace said.

She suddenly straightened and said, “Cisco says I don't have a life.” She crossed her arms in a kinda pouty expression.

“You don't, do you?” Barry asked.

“I do! I cook and I eat and I read and I help you and Grace.”

“Honey, that’s not a life.”

“You don't have to be rude about it.”

“Hey, I'm not doing any better than you. My social life consists of running at superhuman speed and Netflix.”

Grace shook her head. “Don’t look at me for having the ideal life. My life consists of CCPN, doing this, staying up until midnight or longer doing Skype business calls with Carter and trying to figure out where I stand with the man I live with. Who by this point has become more of a roommate than my lover or boyfriend.”

She nodded, smiling. “We are quite the trio, Guys.”

Barry smiled. “Yes we are, Dr. Snow.”

The computer chirped and both Grace and Barry came around to look at the screen. Caitlin replied, “There's an armed robbery in progress. Two suspects, male and female in their 20s. Sounds like our meta-human Bonnie and Clyde are at it again.”

Grace slid her blue eyes to her brother. He smirked at them both. “Time to ruin their social life.”

They raced down to the scene. Grace flew high above and took in everything below. She landed beside her brother. “We’re gonna have to split up. I don’t see Shawna.”

He nodded. “Okay, you take Clay. I got Shawna.”

She nodded. “After I subdue Clay, I’ll check on you.”

He nodded. “Sounds good.”

Gaia flew to standing in front of Clay and the security guys. She smiled. “Hey, Buddy, how’s it going?”

He glared at her. “I heard about you. You’re Goddess.”

She rolled her masked veiled eyes. “It’s Gaia, Jackass.”

He smirked. “Doesn’t matter. They’ll remember mine longer. For killing you.” He shot at her 3 times and she raised her hands and the bullets bounced off the invisible wall. She pushed off and flew toward him. Using all her force and air pressure and punched him.

He landed hard and took off. She landed and untied the guards. “Call the cops.”

They nodded. She flew off and landed just in time to see a bullet head for Flash. “FLASH!” she yelled and he caught the bullet before it could do any real damage. He collapsed.

Gaia ran to him as Shawna and Clay got away. She looked down at her brother. “You okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

* * *

They went back to STAR Labs and Caitlin patched him up. She looked at the wound. “This is a bullet wound. You're lucky it just barely broke the skin.”

“Guess I'm a lot faster than a speeding bullet.”

Grace chuckled and looked at the floor. Wells came wheeling into the room.

“Shawna Baez. She can teleport.”

Caitlin looked at them curiously. “As in, "Beam me up, Shawna?”

“Oh, yeah. It was weird. She leaves behind this smoke too.”

“Yes, of course. Quantum entanglement.”

Grace nodded. “The ability to manipulate unified particles at a limitless distance.” She looked at both Barry and Caitlin. “What?” She shrugged. “Carter told me.”

Barry smirked.

“Hey, I’ll have you know I always listen to him when he speaks.”

Wells smiled. “Or, as Einstein put it, "spooky action at a distance.""

“Every time I got close, she’d disappear. It was like we were playing a game of…”

“Peek-a-boo.”

They smiled at her. “Come on. Can't I name one?”

Grace smiled and put her chin on her her shoulder. “Of course you can.”

Barry smiled. “How am I supposed to catch her if I don't know where she's gonna be?”

“Everybody has limits, Mr. Allen.”

“He’s right, Barry. Shawna’s powers have limits.” She gave her brother a sly look. “We just got to figure them out and exploit them.”

He laughed. “You were way too happy about that.”

She shrugged. “Her boyfriend shot at my brother. I think I have that right.”

He laughed and kissed her hair. “Come on, Kiddo.” He looked at Caitlin and Wells. “Let us know. I'm gonna change. I gotta go help Iris.”

Grace nodded. “When you get dressed. I’ll come with you. I have to do some coding for the new software I’m developing.”

* * *

After his plan with Iris fell through, Barry called up Grace. He smiled. “Hey, Kiddo. I know you said you had coding to do tonight, but get yourself in a pretty dress and sexy heels. You, me and Caitlin are going out. Just the three of us. We’re gonna see if we run into Clay and Shawna.”

She smiled. “Ooh. Sounds good. See you soon.” She hung up the phone and went to her closet. She looked through her dresses and found her brand new blue satin spaghetti strapped body-con short dress. She smiled and looked at it. She decided to wear it. She quickly changed.

Indecisive about a way to wear her hair. She sent Carter the pic of her in the dress and then 2 of her face saying, “Up or down?”

Moments later she got a reply: ****[From Carter]: Damn! You look hot. What’s the occasion?****

****[From Me]: Night out drinking with Barry and Caitlin.** **

****[From Carter]: Then I’d say wear it down.** **

She decided to leave it down and leave it at that. She fixed her hair and took a picture of her entire ensemble and said: ****Hope you have a good night.****

He sent back: ****I most definitely will now.****

* * *

She walked into the bar that Barry told her to meet him and Caitlin at. He smiled when he saw her walk in. He watched as all the men’s heads turned and watched her. “Hey,” he stood and kissed her cheek. “You look _incredible_!”

She smiled. “Thank you.” She sat down. “Cait’s not here yet?”

He shook his head. “Not yet. What do you want to drink?”

“Um…a shot of vodka.”

He nodded. “All right.” He ordered for them both.

They found a table and waited for Caitlin. A few minutes later, Caitlin walked in an amazing dress also. Grace smiled. “Now that’s a reveal.”

He smiled as she walked to their table. “What?” she asked.

“Nothing. You look great,” Grace told her with a smile.

“Thank you. So do you.” They started talking about the case and finally moving on. Caitlin noticed the karaoke stage. “Gonna sing, Grace?”

“Grace?”

She turned at the sound of the woman’s voice and she stifled the groan. “Jessica, hi.”

Caitlin leaned into Barry. “Who’s Jessica?”

Jessica Owens, former Central City High School’s Queen Bee smirked at Grace and then said, “Jessica Owens. Grace, Barry and I used to go to school together.” She nodded. “Barry.”

“Jessica,” he said firmly.

Caitlin looked at her hand and then at her friend. She lifted her eyes. “Nice to meet you.” She looked at Grace.

She looked up at the petite blond. “What do you want, Jessica?”

“I was wondering if you got mine and Josh’s wedding invitation?”

“I did,” she said and rose. “However, I don’t think I’ll be going.”

“Oh, why not?”

“Because do you really think I want to watch the nauseating sight of the ugliest two people in the City marry each other?” She glared at the woman. “You couldn’t pay me enough money.”

“That’s too bad. I was hoping that hot billionaire would come with you, since he used to follow you around like a puppy.”

She shot up at that and growled, “You leave Carter out of this! And Carter is so much more than the money he has now but you wouldn’t know that.”

“No, because he was too busy following you around.”

“Well, at least I can count on him. Can you say the same for Josh? He’s a social climbing asshole who probably latched on to you only because your father’s a city councilman.” She smiled up at him. “I’d ask him before you marry him.” Her brows lifted. “Then again you two deserve each other. You’d both hump anything if it’d get you to the next highest social strata.”

Changing the subject, Caitlin asked, “You gonna sing?”

She nodded. “I think I will.” She picked up her vodka shot and swigged it back. Ignoring the burn, she walked up on stage and whispered to the DJ what she wanted to sing. He nodded and introduced her, “Grace Allen, Ladies and Gentlemen.”

The song that played, was a multi-singer song, but Barry remembered it clearly because she sang it at her high school graduation. It was from a famous TV Show.

_Who's to say_

_Who's not okay?_

_The breakaways_

_Will outlast, will outlast_

_Sticks and stones_

_Won't break these bones_

_They're just some drones_

_To get past, I'll get past_

_Feeling downcast,_

_Like an outcast_

_Underdogs, it's time to, time to fight back_

_We are, we are, we are_

_Stronger from every scar_

_Brighter than any star_

_We're the outcast, o-o-outcast_

_There's nothing you can say_

_To blow our dreams away_

_We rise above the fray,_

_We're the outcast, o-o-outcast_

_In this skin, I'm better than_

_I've ever been, so take that, yeah, take that_

_The test of time will show who shines_

_It will be mine_

_Yeah, the last laugh, the last laugh_

_Feeling downcast,_

_Like an outcast_

_Underdogs, it's time to_

_It's time to, time to bite back_

_We are, we are, we are_

_Stronger from every scar,_

_Brighter than any star_

_We're the outcast, o-o-outcast_

_There's nothing you can say_

_To blow our dreams away_

_We rise above the fray,_

_We're the outcast, o-o-outcast_

_I'd rather be outrageous than_

_Just another door pushing again_

_I'd rather be a rainbow than_

_Just some_

_Shade of gray!_

_We are, we are, we are_

_Stronger from every scar,_

_Brighter than any star_

_The outcast_

_The outcast, yeah_

_Stronger from every scar_

_The outcast, o-o-outcast_

_Brighter than any star_

_The outcast, o-o-outcast_

_We are, we are, we are the outcast, o-o-outcast_

The night was entertainingly a lot of fun. Barry and Caitlin sang together. Grease was always a good soundtrack to sing from. Even she and Caitlin sang. She approached the bar where Caitlin and Barry stood just as Caitlin announced, “I have to go to the bathroom.”

“All right then,” Grace said. She laughed softly. “She is drunk.”

“Oh, yeah.” He smiled. “I thought you’d drink more.”

She shrugged. “Alcohol has never been my go-to coping mechanism.” She saw a beautiful Asian woman approach the bar just as Barry was trying to pay for their drinks. She knew immediately who it was. They worked together. Finally the woman said, “Hey, Stevie. Can my friend here tap out?”

“Sure thing, Linda.”

“Uh, thank you, Linda.”

Grace them interact and smiled. It was so good to see him moving on with someone.

“You're welcome, Barry.”

“How do you know my name?”

Grace snickered as Linda answered, “"Barry. Barry. Barry.""

“Yeah...sorry about us up there.”

“Are you kidding? No, that was some of the best singing that I've heard come from that stage. You definitely made my ears happy. Don't worry.”

“Thanks.”

“So...was that your girlfriend up there?”

“Oh... No, no. She's a friend.”

Grace clarified, “Sister.” She smiled. “Hi, Linda.”

She smiled. “Hi, Grace.”

“You know each other?”

“We work together, B. She works over at CCPN with me.”

Before they left the bar that night, Barry had gotten Linda’s number and Caitlin had puked in the parking lot. To Grace, it was the most fun she’d had in a long time.

* * *

The next morning everyone was to report to the Lab. Everyone gathered in the Cortex. As soon as Grace entered she felt the angry vibes vibrating in the room. She glanced at Cisco, then Barry, then Wells, back to Cisco. Barry spoke, “What’s wrong?”

“Cisco...has something he needs to tell you.”

Cisco turned to them all. “Hartley's gone.”

“He escaped from the Pipeline? How is that even possible?” Barry questioned.

“I let him out.” He looked at Grace and could tell she was livid. He looked back at Caitlin. “Are you mad? I can’t tell with those glasses on.”

“I'd like to yell and wave my arms, but I'm afraid I'd throw up.”

That’s when Grace blew. “Are you insane! Why would you do something so stupid?!” She walked away from the computers and then turned to face him again. “He wanted to take down Wells and...AND he wanted to kill my brother to get back at Wells, I told you not to do! I told you that it was probably a trap, did I not?”

“Yes,” he said. “But Grace, he said he knew what happened to Ronnie.”

“I told you to let it go. I didn't want you looking into that for me.”

She sighed. She didn't understand him anymore. She didn’t understand the way he thought about things or his logic anymore. "He's dangerous Cisco. That's why he's down there! That's why we put him down there!" She groaned in frustration. "I don't understand what you're doing anymore. You hate the guy, think he's an ass, but yet you listened to him long enough to release him and now he's back out there!" She stormed off, slamming a hand into the wall as she walked out of the room.

Everyone in the Cortex felt the room vibrate.

“Whoa…” Caitlin murmured.

Barry walked out of the Cortex to look for his sister. He found her pacing outside. She only paced when she was livid. He walked out and cautiously approached. “Grace.”

“What?” she asked calmly.

“They have a theory on where to find Shawna and Clay.”

She nodded. She walked into the Lab and into the Cortex. She stood at the big screen and listened.

“We have a promising theory. Take a look at this. Now, this is the normal behavior of the particulate that Shawna left behind. Watch what happens when we remove light.”

Grace gasped. “Of course!”

“What?”

“She can’t teleport just anywhere!” she exclaimed. “She has to be able to see where she’s going!”

“You are correct, Miss Allen.” He smiled. “Take away her ability to do that…”

“She can't teleport,” Cisco said softly.

“Exactly.”

“So, we just need to get her into a dark space.”

“Which might not be so hard.”

Barry’s phone rang and he answered. He hung up and looked at Grace. Her stomach dropped with her heart. “Wha…wha…what?”

“It’s dad…he’s…he’s been stabbed.”

She gasped, covering her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. “No!”

Barry took her hand and said, “Come on.”

* * *

They got to the infirmary of the prison and rushed to Henry. Grace gently hugged her father. “Oh, daddy…”

He rubbed her back with one hand. “I’ll be okay, Princess. Promise.”

“Dad...what happened?” Barry asked as he and his sister sat down. Barry sat in the chair by the bed and Grace sat on the bed.

“A rather stern reminder, I'd say, not to poke around Marcus Stockheimer's business.”

“Dad, I told you to stop.”

“Your dad called me with more Intel.”

Barry and Grace shot him a glare.

“It helped us track down Clay and Shawna and arrest Stockheimer,” Joe explained.

“I managed to screw up Marcus's big heist, too, so…”

“You two kept working together, and you didn't tell us?”

“It isn't his fault. I did it to help you. Both of you.”

“Oh, daddy…..”

“You getting stabbed and beaten is not helping us.”

“Look, I... I... I don't get to feel useful very much in here. You two are all grown up now. You needed me before and you don’t need me now, but if I can help you for a change, I'm gonna want to be there for you. Just like you've been there for me all these years.”

Barry looked up and he and Grace talked without saying words. He nodded. “Yep.”

“You said Marcus had a big heist coming up?”

“Mm.”

“Do you know anything else about it?”

“Dad, tell me who did this to you.”

“Come on, Barry, not now.”

“No, your sister’s right. It doesn't matter, Slugger.”

“But you said you want to help me. So help me.”

“One of Marcus's boys. Julius.”

She watched him walk out and Grace stood. “I’ll be right back. She walked up to her brother. She put him up against the wall. “Don’t do anything stupid, Barry.”

“He hurt dad, Grace!”

“I know that!” she exclaimed quietly. “Don’t you think I get it?! Come on, you, dad and Joe are my heroes. I get it more than you think, but I don’t want to lose you too because you did something stupid.”

He sighed. “You won’t lose me, Kiddo. I’m just gonna scare him a bit. Promise.”

She exhaled. “Fine. Visiting hours are almost over anyway.” She walked back into the room.

A little while later as she was saying goodbye to Henry, her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her coat and answered, “Yeah?”

“Got the info. Meet me outside the prison.”

She nodded. “Got it.” She looked at Henry, kissed his cheek. “Bye, daddy. Get better.”

“Bye, Princess.” He looked into her blue eyes and said, “Your light’s gone.”

“What?”

“Your light.” He smiled. “It’s been in your eyes since the day you were born. It’s gone.”

She smiled and kissed his forehead. “That’s because I’m going through some relationship stuff.” She gingerly touched his bruise. “I’ll tell you later.”

She looked at Joe and he nodded. She took off out of the prison and then spun around, creating a wind tornado and by the time she finished she was changed into her suit. She tapped her earpiece. “Where are you?”

Flash couldn’t answer as there were blows being landed on him with a billy club. She exhaled. “Cisco? Wells?”

“He’s at the tunnel,” Cisco told her.

Gaia landed and walked up to Shawna. Shawna smirked and Grace smiled. “See unlike you, I don’t need my powers to kick your ass.”

“Really?” Shawna said. “My guess is you’ve been sheltered all your life--”

“And you’d be wrong…” she punched her in the face, sending Shawna stumbling back.

Shawna came charging toward her and Grace pushed back and Shawna hit the wall. Shawna slumped down the wall and slowly got up. “Why do you care about him?”

“He’s my brother,” she said. “And you’re stealing from my City. Two things I care about.” She called over her shoulder. “You ready big brother.”

“Yep.”

She nodded and Barry took over with Shawna, but then Clay sped by and she jumped into the car. Reminding him about putting her in the dark Grace looked at her brother. “I’ll disable the car, you get the lights.”

She flew off as Barry hit the lights, putting the tunnel in the dark. Grace stopped in front of the car and slammed her hand onto it. The car’s back tires spun. She punched out the headlights and the car stopped. She smirked. “Get out of the car, Big Guy.”

He took off running. Grace looked at her brother.

“We’ll get him later.”

* * *

Cisco didn’t go directly home when Wells released them for the day. He spent hours walking the City and thinking about himself, the emotional turmoil going on inside of him and about Grace. Knowing what he had to do now, he headed home. He walked into the apartment he shared with her and found the bedroom light on.

He walked in and saw her packing a large suitcase. “Gracie?”

"Grace?"

She looked up and looked at him. She shook her head. She glared at him angrily. “I’m done, Cisco. I can't do this anymore, Cisco. I can't. The push-pull. The lying, the deception. You won’t even fucking listen when you ask for my damn advice!”

“I listened!” he defended.

“But yet you did it anyway?!”

“I had to see if he was right!”

“You broke into my brother’s lab!” she yelled back. “You hacked his computer.” She sighed.

“You’re right that was wrong--”

“You do realize that you could have compromised cases, right? Going into his lab? What if he had evidence out or something?”

“I…I didn’t think of that.”

“Obviously not.” She exhaled.

“You’re right. That was wrong of me to do that. I’m sorry.”

She sighed. She ran her hands over her face. “Cisco…he played you. That’s what I was trying to tell you. You’re the smartest person in the room until someone figures out how to take one thing you’re feeling and twists it or his own gain.” She exhaled. “You want me to open up to you and talk to you about everything in my life, but yet you won’t---”

“That’s not fair!” He said back. “You know how I grew up, Grace.”

“You’re right I do, but if I’m even remotely the girl you wanted to spend your life with then you should have been able to at least let me push the door open to look inside.” She sighed again. “You won’t even listen to me when I give you advice about something that I knew would be dangerous.”

“I listened to you, but I felt like I owed it to Caitlin and Ronnie to see if I could find him.”

“But Caitlin doesn’t want you to. You told me she told you to leave it alone, to walk away. I even heard her say that today.”

“She did--”

“But yet you won’t listen to her or me.” She sighed. “What you’ve done….releasing Hartley was dangerous.” She sniffled, quickly wiping her eyes. “I can’t be with someone who would put people’s lives at risk like that, Cisco.”

Damn she was mad. She was so angry she was practically smoking from it. He could tell she was at her last straw right now. That there was no talking her out of it, not with that expression. He said, “You’re right. I’m not being fair to you. You’re in a place where you want to be in love, have a future with that love, a family. Even though I said I was ready I don’t think I am.” He looked into her eyes and saw the tears there. Keeping her eyes locked on his, he said, “I think I need to take my time and figure out what I want out of my life. Out of relationships in general. I need to get me straightened out.” He exhaled. "And you need to find someone who will love you the way you want to be, take care of you the way you deserve and build the type of relationship that you have dreamed about.”

Her tears slipped down her face and she let out a small hiccuping sob as he turned to let her continue packing. When she finished, she walked out of the bedroom, carrying the suitcases and headed for the door. She pulled it open and looked at him. “You can have the apartment, or if you want we can break the lease. I’ll be at my dad’s.” She closed her eyes, her heart cracking. She knew the moment she closed this door and walked away, it would shatter. “I’ll…um…come get the rest of my stuff…later.”

He nodded. “Okay,” he murmured.

She smiled and took the keys off the chain and placed them on the counter. She walked back to the door and wheeled both cases out in the hall. She looked at him. “For what it’s worth…I loved you.”

He smiled. “I loved you too.”

She let out a shuddery exhale and walked out of the apartment. She waited until the elevator doors closed and then the dams broke. She let out a choked wailing sob as her heart shattered.

* * *

She had pulled herself together long enough to drive to the West house and she parked in front of it. She got out of the car and not finding the energy to get her suitcases she stumbled up the walk and the porch. She walked into the house. “Daddy…”

Joe and Barry both exchanged looks before they stood and met Grace at the door. Joe took her in his arms and she was inconsolable as she cried. Joe held her tightly as she cried, lifting her into his arms and sitting on the couch. “Baby, what happened?”

“Cisco…a-a-a-and…I-I-I…” her voice died as another wave of sobs hit her.

Joe looked at Barry for a translation. Barry looked at his sister and asked, “Did you break up?”

She nodded and began sobbing again. Joe pulled her into his lap like he did so many times before when she’d have a broken heart. “Shh…Baby, it’ll be okay.”

But Barry knew it wouldn’t be for awhile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it was guys. Their break up. I hope you don't hate me too much. And I hope you come back for the next chapter.
> 
> Song: Outcast (Original Glee Song--Season 4)


	20. The Nuclear Man

Grace sat in the living room of the West home flipping through the channels on the television. It’d been a week since she moved out of the apartment she shared with Cisco. She had gotten the rest of her stuff a few days after she had moved her clothes out. She was taking the time that was needed and she wasn’t rushing anything this time. She was going to actively not look for someone.

She knew after everything from Finley Roberts, Josh Hayden, Cole Hanson and Cisco that she needed to take this time for herself and rediscover who she is without a guy. She needed to reconnect with herself again, fall in love with herself again.

However, it was hard to put up a wall around herself, to act like it was perfectly okay that they worked together and that she could handle it. When in truth she really couldn’t. Whenever she went to STAR Labs for a meta-human case, it hurt immensely to see Cisco every time. And she knew it hurt him, but they were working through it.

After Barry had left on his date, Grace clicked the TV off and looked at her dad. “I’m going to go get some ice cream and go for a walk, okay?”

He nodded. “Okay, Baby.”

She kissed his cheek and started for the door when Joe called out to her. She turned. “Yeah?”

“I know it’s been tense and awkward between you and Cisco since the breakup, but um…I was wondering, do you think you and he could work together on the investigation I’m doing on your mom’s death?”

She didn’t answer for a long while, but then said, “Um…can I give you my answer after I get back?”

He nodded. “Of course. Enjoy yourself.”

**************

She had walked around for hours and flew around longer. She got herself ice cream and found herself going to Mike and Angie’s house. She walked up onto the porch and knocked. Angie answered and was a little surprised. “Gracie, hi, Sweetheart.”

“Hi,” she said softly.

“You know you don’t have to knock.”

She smiled and kissed her cheek as she walked in. Angie saw the sadness in her face and eyes. “Baby, what happened?”

“Cisco and I broke up last week.”

She nodded and ushered her into the living room. She had gotten used to mothering Grace. She’d been doing it to both Allen Children since their mother died 15 years before. “Is dad home?” Grace asked taking her coat off.

“No. He won’t be home until the morning,” she said. Grace had started calling them ‘mom and dad’ for about 10 years or so now. “Let me go get us some cocoa and you can tell me all about what happened, okay?”

She nodded. When Angie had come back with their cocoas, she started telling her everything. From where met him to the break up and everything in between. She sighed. “And now dad asked me if it would be a problem to have Cisco help he and I on the re-investigation of mom’s murder.” She exhaled. “I don’t know what do. I mean, if I say yes I look like the bitter bitch. If I say no then…” she sighed and rested her chin on her palm.

Angie nodded. She knew her dilemma at this point. It hurt to be around Cisco, but Joe needed help, so does she do it? Or if she doesn’t does she look like the bitter ex? “I know this may sound like I don’t like you or that I’m punishing you, but you know that’s not true.”

“Right.”

“Do it. Help Joe. You’re his daughter. He needs your help, so…give it to him.” There was a knock on the door and Angie stood to answer. A couple of minutes later, she walked in with Carter behind her.

Grace looked up, her heart skipped a beat and her belly fluttered when she saw Carter walking into the room. She immediately stood and went into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her as he buried his face in her hair. “I’m so sorry, Gracie.” He smoothed a hand down her hair as he held her. “Want to talk to us about it?”

“I told your mom, but I’ll repeat it to catch you up.” She took his hand and walked him to the couch. She sat and he sat next to her and listened as she told him. She exhaled and said, “So I don’t know what to do. Your suggested for me to do it because it’s dad and that’s when you showed up.”

“Well, as always, my mom is right. Joe asked for your help. I know it hurts, Gracie. I know it hurts to work alongside him everyday, but Joe’s family and one thing you’ve always done is you’ve always been there for your family despite whatever pain you’re in.”

She nodded. “It’s not only that it’s that I don’t think I can fake it like everything is fine. I will work with dad on the investigation, but how do I pretend that working beside Cisco doesn’t destroy a little part of me everyday?”

* * *

Ultimately, Grace agreed to put her break up with Cisco behind her long enough to help her dad. She called in on a personal day. So when Carter came over that morning, she was dressed in an oversized red cable-knit sweater that hung off her right shoulder, a pair of body hugging jeans and a pair of beige colored above-the-knee high-heel boots dancing along to the upbeat song.

After last night, he wondered if she’d move on at all, but after seeing this he knew that after awhile she was going to be just fine. He smiled and began singing with her:

_Worlds are turning and we're just hanging on_

_Facing our fear and standing out there alone_

_A yearning, and it's real to me_

_There must be someone who's feeling for me_

She turned and smiled at him. “Hey, Good morning!”

“Good morning,” he kissed the top of her head. “How’d you sleep?”

She nodded. “It was a little easier.” She sighed. “I thought of something random last night.”

“What?”

“Our treasure box.”

He poured himself a cup of coffee and smirked over the rim. He nodded. Ever since they were like 12 years old, they’ve been putting in significant items in a hope chest in her childhood bedroom closet and decided that 15 years from the time that they started it they’d open it and remember together. “Do you have a new item? We usually do it at the beginning of the year.”

She nodded. “Yeah.” She sighed. “But it’s not something to do with me and Cisco.”

“What is it?”

“I asked Cisco to make me a slimmer mask. It’s ready today.” She sighed. “He told me a couple of days ago.” She paused and then sighed. “Anyway, I want to put my old mask inside.” She looked into his blue eyes. “We said significant moments in our life for that year and becoming Gaia was a significant part of that.”

He nodded. “I could see that. Well, I’m putting in a copy of the plans from my first million-dollar sale.”

She nodded. “Oh!” she said and took a bite of her yogurt. “One upside to nursing a broken heart?”

“There’s an upside to that?”

She laughed and Carter smiled. He loved hearing her laugh, especially with the break up. “There is when it actually puts you ahead of schedule.”

“Where at, CCPN or SGD?”

“SGD,” she answered and held out a spoonful of yogurt to him.

He walked to her and took the bite she offered. He chewed for a minute and then asked, “How far ahead?”

“I am most definitely going to make the deadline, I’ll say that.”

He smiled. “Good, because we get a bonus if we do.”

“Really?” she asked.

He nodded.

“When did that happen?”

“Um…when I went to talk to Manning about our meeting he said if you get it done before the deadline he’ll triple our money.” He smiled. “So, that’s about twenty-five to split and then the other fifty million goes into the business.”

She nodded. She did the math in her head and nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

* * *

Grace and Carter left not long after their conversation in the kitchen. Carter heading to STAR Labs and Grace heading to her childhood home. Before she walked to her car, Carter took her hand. “Gracie.”

She looked into his eyes and her heart thudded in her chest. He smiled. “Take it one step at a time. It may be hard going back into that house, but I want you to know that I may not be standing right there beside you, but I’m with you, okay?”

She nodded. She rose up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “You’re the best.”

He smiled and touched her cheek. “Only for you.” He kissed her forehead. “Call me later.”

She nodded. “I may need a big bucket of ice cream after this.”

He laughed. “I’m game.”

* * *

Grace pulled her brand new bright red Mustang Convertible along the curb and got out of the car. She saw Cisco and her heart twisted in her chest a little. Remembering what a website about working with your ex said, she smiled and walked with purpose toward them, carrying a black case with her.

Cisco looked her up and down. She looked amazing, her long brown hair was around her shoulders, her beautiful eyes were blocked by a pair big black glasses. “Hi, Grace.”

“Hey, Cisco,” she smiled. “Good to see you.” She hugged her dad. “Hi, dad.”

“Hi, Sweetheart.” He looked into her glasses. “You gonna be okay?”

She nodded. “I…I should be,” she murmured. She pushed her sunglasses on top of her head.

Cisco looked at her and his heart thudded in his chest. She looked beautiful. The makeup she wore topped off her outfit. “You look nice.”

“Thank you.” She looked at her dad. “So,what’s up?”

“Well, with your investigative skills, Cisco’s skills and me, I think we could figure out who really killed your mom that day.”

She nodded. “Oh!” She jogged back to her car and opened the door. She leaned inside and grabbed a medium-sized leather journal. She jogged back and held it up. “Promised Carter I’d show you this.”

“What is it?” Cisco asked.

“It’s notes and suspicions on a suspect that we’ve been talking about.” She held it out to Joe. “It’s someone that you, Carter and I have talked about before.”

He nodded. “Right.” He looked at her. “Now, I want your Forensics Psychologist brain and your science brain.”

She smiled. “They are one in the same, dad and they’ve been on for awhile now.”

He smiled and knocked on the door. A woman dressed in a sexy nightie and robe answered the door. Grace watched as she turned herself out sexily toward Joe. Grace smiled.

“I'm Detective West. This is Cisco Ramon and Grace Allen.”

“Oh, please, it's Sherry, like the drink.” She smiled. “What can I do for you, Detective?”

“I don't know if you were aware, but there was a homicide in this residence approximately 15 years ago.”

“Oh, I know.”

“We've reopened the investigation. Do you mind if we come in and take another look around?”

She said flirtatiously, “Oh, not at all.” She stepped aside to let them in. Cisco walked in first. Suddenly as Grace was about to, she froze. Her memories started playing out of the last day that her mom rushed her off to school.

_“Mama, have you seen my math homework?”_

_Nora Allen smiled as she gathered the breakfast dishes. “Check on the coffee table, Gracie.” She watched the petite girl with the big bright blue eyes run into the living room to locate her book. Her heart swelled as she watched her. “Barry, honey! Time for school!”_

_“Coming, mom!”_

_Grace rushed out, her face all lit up, “Found it!”_

_Nora smiled. “That’s my girl.” She kissed her forehead. “I love you, Princess.”_

_She smiled up at her. “I love you too, Mama!” She sighed. “BARRY! Hurry up! We’re gonna be late again!”_

_Moments later, they were out the door, Nora scolding Barry for telling Grace to shut up…_

When she came back to present day, she realized she was crying and that Joe, Cisco and Sherry were looking at her concerned. Joe walked to her. “Are you okay, Sweetheart?”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “Just give me a second.”

Cisco turned to comfort her, but Joe stopped him. “She’s processing.”

“Is she going to be okay?”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Grace used to live here. Her mom was the woman who was murdered.”

“Oh, Dear…”

Grace pulled out her phone and hit Carter’s contact and then speaker. “You’re on speaker. Where are you?”

“About to head into the Lab. What’s wrong?”

“Talk to me,” she told him kind of desperately. “I thought I would be okay, but…Carter, this is harder…” she took a deep breath as her jaw quivered, “…than I thought it would be.”

Cisco watched his ex-girlfriend as Carter’s voice filled the foyer, “Okay, Gracie, take a deep breath, honey.” He took the breaths with her. “Okay, now listen to my voice and do as I tell you, okay?” There was a pause as she did as she was told. “That’s my girl. Now, focus on my voice, okay?”

“Okay.”

“From where you’re standing take a step.” He waited for confirmation.

“Okay, I’m in the house.”

“Okay, Sweetheart, you’re doing so great. Okay, now take a much bigger step and go stand by Joe.”

She did as he said and she stood by Joe. “Okay.”

“Okay. Now, just stand there. Take in what you’re feeling.” He paused, giving her a few moments. “Now, what I want you to do is think about a really happy memory that happened in that house and keep thinking about that when you start to get overwhelmed.” He paused. “Do you have the memory?”

“Yes,” she answered.

“Good. When you get back I’ll have a big bucket of Cookie Dough Explosion waiting for you. Please take me off speaker.”

She did as he asked and put the phone to her ear. “Okay.”

“You can do this, Gracie. I believe in you. You’re one of the strongest women I know. Just remember if it gets too overwhelming you can step out or even hold onto Joe, okay?”

She smiled. “I know. Have that ice cream ready for me.”

“Absolutely. If you need anything else call me.”

Grace hung up and looked around. She could still remember how mom and daddy had it set up. She still remembered seeing her mom’s body as Joe escorted her out of her house, but it looked…so different too. “Wow…she really changed it.”

“Really?” Cisco asked.

She nodded. “Yeah. Um…I still remember…um…the way mom had designed it, but uh…it’s different.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, um…let’s do this.”

* * *

Carter entered the Cortex, he knew with Barry he wasn’t entering enemy territory, but with Caitlin and Dr, Wells it was a whole other story. As he entered, he heard Wells say to Caitlin, “Caitlin, we need to know that you're on board with what needs to be done here.”

She looked up and saw Carter who smiled sympathetically at her and then said, “How do we find him?”

“Quentin Quale, the scientist that Ronnie attacked, is a former colleague of Martin Stein. If Martin is indeed in control of Ronnie's body, he may be trying to figure out exactly what's happening to him.”

Barry looked up and smiled. “Hey, Man. You made it!”

Carter smiled. Carter walked to him and hugged him.

“Made it for what?” Caitlin asked.

Barry exhaled. “I called him last weekend.” He sighed. “I’m trying to be gentle when I say this, but, uh…for every one of Grace’s break ups, Carter’s been there to help her through them.”

Caitlin smiled. “You’re a good friend.”

Carter smiled. “Grace makes it easy.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway…continue.”

Barry looked at Wells and Caitlin, “What do we know about him? I don't even know what Stein looks like.”

Wells hit something on his chair and brought up a picture of Stein. Barry looked at it. “Martin Stein,” Wells said simply.

“That's Stein?”

“It is.”

“I've seen him before.”

“When?” Carter and Caitlin asked in unison.

“On the train, the day the accelerator exploded.”

Carter looked at both Wells and Caitlin. He looked at Barry. “Let’s go visit, Mrs. Stein. To figure out what happened we gotta start at the beginning.”

Barry smiled. “Cool wisdom.”

He smiled. “Thanks. Grace used to say it all the time.”

* * *

Carter knocked on the Steins’ door and smiled at Mrs. Stein. Barry spoke, “Mrs. Stein, I’m Barry Allen from the CCPD crime lab. Can we come in and ask you a few questions.”

She nodded. “Absolutely.”

“This are my colleagues, Dr. Harrison Wells, Dr. Caitlin Snow and Dr. Carter Stephens. We’re with STAR Labs.”

“Of course I've heard of S.T.A.R. Labs. Martin was always vocal about the competition.”

“S.T.A.R. Labs is actually helping the CCPD looking into your husband's disappearance, Mrs. Stein.”

“Oh, please. Call me Clarissa.”

Over by a table where a handful of prestigious awards sat, Wells looked them all. “The Conway Prize for Scientific Advancement.”

“Martin was very proud of that one.”

“I'd always hoped to win one of these myself. Oh, and look at that. He won it three times.”

Carter chuckled.

Barry smirked. “Takes a special kind of person to make Dr. Wells jealous.”

“Well, Martin had a talent for making people jealous. Even me. I sometimes think Martin loved his theorems and experiments more than he did me.”

Caitlin looked sympathetic. “I'm sure that's not true.”

Barry looked at her. “And you haven't heard from your husband since he disappeared.”

“No.”

“Mrs. Stein, could I show you a photograph? Have you seen this person before?” He showed her a picture of Ronnie.

“Yes, I have. Who is he?”

“Um…”

Carter smiled.

Wells spoke up. “He's just a person of interest in your husband's case.”

“When did you see him?”

“I started getting the feeling that someone was watching me, and sometimes I still do.”

“When did you see him?” Carter asked.

“About a month after Martin disappeared, that young man showed up here.” She told them what had happened.

“And he left out that window?” Carter asked.

She nodded. Carter nodded and walked over to the window. He closed his eyes or a few moments and then opened them again. He looked from left to right--taking in the entire area--and scanning everywhere. He turned back to Barry and shook his head when the results came.

They left not too long after that and discussed what some theories were when they got far enough away from the Stein home.

“So it appears Martin Stein and Ronnie Raymond have something in common besides sharing a body. They both feel the need to protect the women they love,” Wells said.

Carter nodded. “It makes sense. I probably would do the same thing with Grace if I was in their predicament.”

Barry nodded. “Clarissa said she feels like she's being watched.”

“Well, then, this has all the makings of a stakeout,” Wells told them.

“But Barry's got a date tonight.”

“I'll cancel.”

“No! No, go. If we need you here, something tells me we can get you back in a hurry,” he smiled.

Carter looked at his friend. “Yeah, Dr. Wells is right. Besides, I can join them and if anything happens, we’ll call.”

* * *

“I'm not picking up anything. Not even with The Super Light.”

“Super Light?” Joe asked.

“You’re not going to start naming gadgets are you?”

He smiled and shook his head. “Well, technically it's a multi-spectrum, violet laser-enhanced scanner that detects molecular schisms in the 600 mega-volt range, but I figured "Super Light" was easier to say.”

“Right, but what does it tell you?” Joe asked.

Cisco sighed. “Nothing we didn't already know about that night.”

“Okay, keep looking.”

Sherry walked back into the room, this time in a slinky black dress. “Ahem. Uh, can I get you boys something to drink? Water? Soda? Wine?”

“Uh, we're fine. Thank you,” Joe said.

“Well, if you change your mind, I've been told my strawberry daiquiris are sinful.”

Grace snickered. Joe looked at her. “Be quiet, you.”

Cisco looked at him innocently. “I will not judge you.”

Joe started going over the crime scene, describing each placement.

“Joe, I think... I just think maybe it's been too long, and everything's different.”

Grace’s heart thundered in her chest like hoofs hitting the ground when she saw it. “Not everything, Cisco.”

“What?”

“This mirror,” she said pointing at the mirror bureau combo. “This mirror….mom _loved_ this mirror.” She looked at Joe. “If I remember correctly it was a family heirloom or something.”

“Sherry must have bought it at the estate sale.”

Knowing what this could mean, her heart thudded in her chest so hard, she looked at Joe and then at Cisco. “Cisco, hand me the superlight.” She looked back at Joe as she blindly took the light from Cisco. “Dad hit the lights.”

“What? Why?”

Cisco made it pitch black in the room and she scanned the back of the mirror with the light. She smiled. “I knew it.”

“What?” Joe asked.

“Back in the 1830s Justus Von Liebig invented the silver nitrate mirror.”

“Okay, and…?”

“And silver nitrate is a chemical used in photography.” Grace couldn’t believe it. Her brother’s account of that night was true. She looked at Cisco. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

He nodded. “If there were two speedsters there that night, the sparks from their movement would have generated enough flashes to actually expose images onto the silver nitrate.”

Grace nodded. “Exactly.”

“You saying what I think you're saying?”

“This mirror might contain photographs of what actually happened that night.”

Grace looked at Cisco. “Come on. I know where to go.”

* * *

Carter, Caitlin and Wells sat in the van waiting for Ronnie/Stein to show. Carter had just finished his chili cheese fries and was wiping his fingers off when he heard Wells offer, “Want some of my fries?”

“No, thanks,” Caitlin said.

“Why would he come back here?”

“Because this is his home,” Wells explained. “I don't mean the actual house. I mean Clarissa. She's his home. We all want to go home again. You know, where we feel safe. Where we feel loved.” He looked at Caitlin and said, “Ronnie's your home. Grace is Carter’s.”

“Not anymore,” Caitlin muttered. She looked at Carter apologetically.

“Remember what I told you on your first day at S.T.A.R. Labs?”

“"A scientist's work is never finished”,” Caitlin recited.

“A scientist's work is never finished. Well, my work did this to Ronnie and did this to Martin Stein. But it's not finished, and it won't be until we bring them both home.”

Carter looked through the windshield and saw the rolling ball of fire. “What is that?” He looked at Caitlin. “Could that be them?”

They watched as the ball of fire went to the Stein home.

“So I'm assuming you have Barry on speed dial?”

“I’m calling Grace.” He looked at everyone. “She can fight him better than Barry could.”

Wells nodded and Carter dialed. “Hey, G, it’s me.” He smiled. “Firestorm has decided to visit Clarissa Stein again.”

“I’ll be right there.” She looked at Cisco and Joe. “I gotta go.” She kissed Joe’s cheek. She looked at the mirror for a moment and then said, “It’s probably be-best that I go. I don’t know if I could see mama again.”

Joe nodded. “Go, Sweetheart. Be careful.”

* * *

When Gaia got to the Stein house she saw Firestorm jet-propel while hanging onto Barry. She pushed off, her take off sounding like a plane. When Firestorm released him, Grace caught him. “Hey, Big Brother.”

“Hi. Nice catch.”

She looked down at him, readjusted her hands and asked, “Do you trust me?”

“Unwaveringly.”

She smiled and started to descend at a high rate of speed. “When we get close to enough to the ground, pull your legs up.”

He nodded. They landed behind the van and rolled. Grace looked up to see Firestorm flame on again and she sighed. She moved closer to her brother and then threw up her hands. Just as Firestorm was going to throw out another fireball, Caitlin called out, “no!” and Firestorm left.

Caitlin and Carter both bent down to them both. Carter looked at Grace, “You okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah. We need to talk later.”

He nodded. “We will.”

She looked at everyone. “I gotta go and see if I can catch up to Joe.”

Carter nodded and kissed her forehead. “Be careful.”

* * *

Grace rushed into the house. “Did I miss anything?”

“Just watching Cisco setting up this device.”

“Oh, Good,” she said. She pushed her hand through her hair. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

“So you're telling me you can get actual photographs from this thing?”

“The science is solid. It works exactly like an old film camera. I developed the mirror backing, and fortunately for us, the lightning went off about ten times that night.”

“Multiple exposures.”

Grace smiled. “Exactly dad.” She checked over the equipment. “The program ready?”

He nodded. “I went ahead and enhanced them digitally and, just for kicks, decided to extrapolate a 3-D hologram from the original 2-D.”

They turned out the lights and Cisco hit the play button on the device. Grace gasped. “Mama.” She looked at her mother. Her mom looked so scared that night as red blur and yellow blur raced around her. “Red and yellow lightning….” Recognition dawned as she had thought about what her brother said and what color he was.

“What?”

“Red and yellow lightning,” she said. “Barry was ten. He had no idea what these were. So, he described it the best he could. Red and Yellow lightning.”

“Right, Sweetheart,” Joe said. “What’s your point?”

She looked at her dad. “Um….I know Wells said that there was no way that there was more than one of the people that were like Barry, but what if he’s wrong.” She pointed at the pictures. “The only one that I know who can go that fast is Barry, but what if there are others out there?”

Joe smiled at her. “Nice to know that my detective brain not only passed to your brother and sister.”

She laughed. “And to think, Barry and I aren’t even biologically yours.” She winked at him playfully.

They looked at the pictures again as Cisco played them back. “Can you play it again? Slower?” Joe asked.

Cisco started again. Joe pointed. “There, there. You see that?”

Remembering what Barry said about cast off she looked toward the wall in the other room. “Dad…look!”

Joe seen the red dots and he looked at her. She seemed to be frozen. “This wallpaper's new.” He tore it back and Grace gasped when she saw it.

“Oh, man. Is that blood?” Cisco asked.

“We had a husband who was holding the same weapon that killed his wife. We weren't looking for any other suspects. That blood belongs to one of the two speedsters that was here that night. Maybe the one that killed Nora.”

“I'll get a sample kit.”

“I got you,” Joe said to the cast off.

Grace quietly sobbed. “Dad…”

Joe let the wallpaper drop and walked to her. “Oh, Sweetheart.” He held her and rubbed her back. “I told you we’d figure it out.”

“Daddy didn’t do it….”

“No, Sweetheart, he didn’t.” He felt her collapse against him and he just held her, soothing her. “Shh…it’s okay, Sweetheart. It’s okay.”

Later after Cisco got the sample and was about to head to the lab, Grace looked at both Joe and him and said, “I’ll see you guys later. I’m gonna…I have to go for a walk.”

“Grace--”

“No, Cisco, don’t.” Joe looked at the younger man. “She can’t rely on you like she used to.”

* * *

Grace landed on the patio of Carter’s loft and walked into the apartment. She heard the jazz/soul music playing and looked around. “CJ?”

Carter walked out of the kitchen and looked at his best friend. “Gracie?”

She spun really fast and when she stopped she was in a pair of leggings and an oversized Central City University sweatshirt. He looked into her eyes and instantly knew something was wrong. “Sit down. I’ll get us a glass of wine.”

“Thank you.” She sat down on the part of the couch that was in front of the fireplace and pulled her legs to her chest. Subconsciously she began rocking back and forth.

He came back into the room and handed her the glass of wine. She thanked him again and took a sip. He waited for a few more sips before he asked, “What happened?”

“There was still evidence in the house,” she admitted. “Blood…”

“Blood?”

She nodded. “Cast off from that night.”

“Oh, Cricket, that’s good. That means they’ll be able to figure out who really did it.”

She smiled at the nickname. He’d been calling her that since kindergarten explaining to her it was because she couldn’t seem to sit still and had to be jumping somewhere. She hadn’t realized how much she missed it until now. “Yeah.”

“So, what’s the problem, Cricks?”

She sighed. “It’s just that.” She sighed again. “I didn’t expect going back there to be so hard. Mom was so scared, Carter. You could see it…”

“See it? What?”

She explained to him about the nitrate and the projector. He nodded. “Oh, got you.”

She exhaled. “But by the looks of those pictures Barry’s been telling the truth since then. I could never back him up with anyone because whatever was chasing each other in my house had locked my door from the outside.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I remember you telling me that,” he said.

Grace sighed. “I could go for that ice cream now.”

He laughed. “Of course. What was I thinking.”

* * *

The next morning, Linda walked up to Iris, after Barry had to dash out again and asked her, “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

They walked to the water as Iris said, “Yeah, sure.”

“So, um, you and Barry are like BFFs, right?”

“The best of BFFs.”

“Has he ever actually dated anyone before? Because he's simultaneously surprisingly good at it and really, really bad at it.”

“I don't know. He's... Barry.”

Grace came up behind them and laughed, “That’s a nice descriptor, Iris.”

Iris smiled. “Hey! How are you?”

She nodded. “I’m good.”

Linda looked Barry’s sister up and down. Her long hair was in a braid down the left side of her head, landing perfectly on the shoulder of the sweater she wore under her pinafore dress. To top off the outfit was a pair of black leather pointy toe boots. “You look great.”

“Thanks. What are we talking about concerning my brother?”

They talked her up and Linda asked, “What was his last girlfriend like? You know, he hasn't really had a girlfriend in a while.”

“I don't know, maybe he's just not ready yet.”

Grace eyed her sister. What in the world was she doing?

“What do you mean?”

“You know, I mean, he was into someone, an unrequited love thing. You know, he had feelings for someone, and they weren't really reciprocated, so... Yeah, maybe just give him time.”

“Sure.”

Grace was fuming by the time Iris finished. She looked at Linda. “Don’t listen to her,” she told her. “Listen, I love my brother. He’s one of my best friends, but he’s also really…shy at first. He likes you, Linda. Don’t walk away from him because Iris has some misinformation.”

Linda nodded. She pulled her phone out of her pinafore pocket and dialed her brother. “Hey, it’s me. I’m about to head over to CCPD to see dad, but I wanted to let you know that…”

* * *

Grace got to Barry’s lab just as the computer beeped to confirm their thoughts…there was 2 speedsters that night. “What’s up?”

“Well, looks like there were two,” Cisco told her, then kissed her lips when she came to him. “I’m gonna run it through the database.”

“Can you run them against a specific person?”

“Yeah, sure, if we have something to match it to. Who are we looking at?”

“Dr. Harrison Wells.”

“I thought we were trying to solve their mom's murder,” Cisco said.

“We are, Cisco,” Grace insisted.

“I'm asking you to keep this between us.”

“You think Dr. Wells killed their mom? No way. He didn't even know Barry then. Why would he kill their mom?”

“I don't know yet. But I do know that Wells keeps secrets. And this may be one of them.”

“Dr. Wells is a great man. I was nothing when he gave me a job, a chance to change my life. He has helped so many people. He's not a murderer,” Cisco insisted.

“Cisco, I'm a cop. I'm good at reading people, so I know I can trust you with my suspicion. When I go talk to the family and friends of a murder suspect, somebody I know is guilty, and I tell them the person they love is a killer, guess what they all say. That's not the person I know.”

He looked at Grace. “Aren’t you going to say something? You’ve worked with him.”

“I have, but Cisco, I can’t shake my gut here. And my gut is saying that there’s something off. That Dr. Wells isn’t who he says he is.” She folded her arms over her chest and said, “And he has a very weird obsession with my brother that I don’t like.”

Cisco scoffed. “So, that’s your criteria to think he killed your mother? Because he’s been helping your brother get faster. I think you’re--”

“Don’t you dare!” she screamed. “I am not jealous of my brother. I have no reason to be. Look whether you like it or not my dad and I are going to be looking into your boss and you can be angry and annoyed with me all you want for not agreeing with you, but we’re adults, Cisco. You’ve known from the beginning I make up my own mind. This is my family. This is both my journalism gut and the gut of a cop’s daughter.”

“Well, good. I’m glad you’re so sure of it.” He grabbed his coat. “I think I'm done being a cop for today.”

* * *

Carter and Grace walked into the building of S.T.A.R. Labs and she headed to where everyone was. “Hey, what was so urgent that it required a all-hands--” she stopped when she seen a shirtless guy in the lab. “Okay….um…you’re new.” Then remembering a picture of Caitlin’s fiance she said, “Ronn--no…”

He smiled. “Martin Stein.”

From behind her she heard Carter gasp. “Hey, Stephens, you okay back there?”

“Uh…yeah.” He smiled. “I’m Dr. Carter Stephens and this is Grace Allen--”

“Are you Mr. Allen’s--”

“Sister. Little sister.”

He smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too, Sir.” They walked into the room where everyone was gathered. “So, what was the emergency?”

“It seems Ronnie's fight with The Flash has exacerbated the Firestorm Matrix. It's unstable. Exponentially increasing the rate of fission inside his body.”

“Well, how long does he have?” Caitlin asked.

“If his temperature keeps rising at the current pace, no more than a couple of hours.”

“But you can fix it, right? I mean, you... you can separate them before it's too late.”

“No,” Carter said softly. “If you separate them it could cause a nuclear explosion. And if Dr. Wells is correct in his assessment then that type of explosion could destroy the entire City. We’d all die.”

Something seemed to click in Grace’s brain. “Unless….”

“Unless what?” Barry asked his sister.

“Well, unless something happened to Ronnie’s body. If he’s no longer functional then they could separate because the nuclear connectors are destroyed. And no nuclear connection, no…ka-boom when they separated.”

Dr. Wells nodded. “Miss Allen is correct.”

“You want to kill Ronnie?” Caitlin asked.

“No, I don't want to kill Ronnie. But in this scenario, Ronnie is the host body.”

“If you kill Ronnie, you kill Stein. That's two people.”

“I don't know how else to stop it. And my guess is that if Ronnie and Professor Stein knew the consequences that we were all facing, they would make the same decision. It's two lives for millions.”

“If I may say something, please?” Carter asked.

“Um…Dr. Wells, may be right. But I may have a way for them all to come out of this alive.”

Caitlin looked at him. “How?”

“How…what?”

“How would you do it?” She sighed. “How are you going to separate my fiance from Dr. Stein?”

“Oh! Um…a quantum splicer. I have one--a prototype back at my house.”

“Is it operational?” Caitlin asked.

“It hasn’t been fully tested,” Grace admitted.

Caitlin looked at her friend. “Would you trust his inventions even if they weren’t fully tested?”

She nodded. “Without a doubt,” she told her. “I promise you Carter would never do anything to hurt others. He couldn’t.”

She looked at the dark-haired man with the blue eyes. “Can you go home to your place and get it and come back?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“I’ll fly him,” Grace said. “If that’s okay?”

Carter nodded. “Absolutely.”

She nodded. She looked at her friends. “We’ll be back soon.” She tugged him outside and looked at him. “Put your arms around my waist.”

He smirked, his heart swelling and beating at the same time. “Any time.”

She smiled and put her arms around him too. She pushed off hard and they shot into the air. She started flying. “By the way, the first time I figured out I could do this was last night when Barry and I fought Firestorm or RonnieStein.”

He chuckled. “Good to know, but I trust you.”

* * *

They went to Carter’s house and he quickly found the splicer as she was getting them back up in the air, her comm beeped. “Yes, Dr. Wells?”

“Get over to the Badlands. That’s where they are.”

“Got it.” She looked at Carter. They got into flying position and she jet-propelled up and then back down quickly, gaining speed and then with a boom she was flying off to the Badlands. Seconds later, they landed in the direction of the Badlands. They got the splicer to Caitlin and Barry quickly.

Caitlin explained the device to Stein and then looked into the eyes of the man she loved and said, “Ronnie…if you’re in there. I love you.”

Carter heard Grace gasp and he took her hand. Stein put the device on and it activated immediately.

Through Grace’s comm she heard, “It’s not going to work. It’s going to blow.”

“Get out of there,” Wells told them.

Barry looked at Grace. “Go. We’ll be right behind you.”

She nodded. She looked up at Carter. “Wanna terra-surf?”

“Terra-Surf?”

She nodded and held out her hand. He took it and she positioned herself like she was going to run and they told off like a bolt. She straightened and began moving like she was surfing. From somewhere behind them they heard the large and loud roar. She felt it beneath her feet, the rumbling of the explosion and she knew the plume was following them. She went faster.


	21. Fallout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the wait on this one, but I couldn't seem to get my head in the right head space for it. With personal stuff and the things going on in the news I just couldn't find the muse, but good news is, I'm back. So, please enjoy!

To protect them both from the plume, Carter grabbed for Grace and tucked her under his body as they rolled. When they finally stopped he rolled on top of her.

“Ugh!” she groaned as his weight settled on her. She was panting a little. She looked up at Carter. “Hey, You okay?”

He nodded. “You?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” Her breath hitched as he moved some hair out of her face. “You know when I pictured us in this position this wasn’t exactly it.”

He laughed and went to his knees. He stood and pulled her to her feet.

She looked around. Not far from them was Barry and Caitlin. “Barry! Caitlin!”

They both rushed to the others. Carter stared at his friend and seemed to scan him and then moved to Caitlin. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” She looked out at the aftermath of the explosion. “Oh, God. The nuclear explosion. There's no telling how much radiation we were exposed to.”

“Wait... wait, wait, wait, wait, this can't be,” Cisco said. “The Geiger counter in the suit... it's reading less than one millirad.”

“But that's normal.”

“There's no radiation.”

“But how?” Grace asked pulling her hand through her hair. “Does that mean it worked?” She looked at Carter.

“More than likely,” he said confidently.

Grace took Carter’s hand and again like the other times felt the sparks almost instantly. She sighed. “Come on.”

They get to the edge of the hole that the explosion created and start climbing down.

“Did it work? Did you separate them?” Cisco insisted.

“I don't know,” Barry told him.

Caitlin eased toward the man sprawled out in the dirt. “Ronnie? Tell me your name.”

“Ronnie Raymond,” he responds. He tucked a hand behind her head and whispered, “Cait. It's me.” They kissed.

And Grace’s heart ached at the touching moment.

“Uh, pardon me,” Professor Stein said. “Obviously, I need a change of clothes.”

“Nice to see you in the flesh again, Professor Stein.” Barry smiled. “We're coming home. All of us.” Barry released his comm.

Grace squealed jumping into Carter’s arms. Pride and love shone in her eyes. “You did it!” She had this unbelievable urge to kiss him but chalked it up to the excitement. She hopped down.

“That was a prototype?” Caitlin asked. Carter had gained her trust and her confidence in his abilities in that moment.

“It was a prototype?” Stein asked.

He nodded. “It’s only been tested twice. I hadn’t done the final test when Caitlin said she wanted an alternative.”

Ronnie stood and walked to him. “Well, thank you, Dr. Stephens.”

He smiled. “Call me Carter.”

Grace smiled. “Let’s go home.” She sighed, more joyful than she had ever been.

* * *

They got to the Lab and everyone headed inside. Cisco met them at the elevator. “Ronnie Raymond.”

“Cisco.” The 2 men hugged.

Grace smiled. She watched Wells greet him.

“Caitlin told me what happened to you. I'm so sorry.”

“I'm responsible for putting myself in this chair. You are responsible for my still being alive... thank you.”

“You said you'd bring him back,” she put an arm around him, “and you did. Thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

“Excuse me? Are we all planning to sing Kumbaya next?”

“Professor Stein, I presume.”

“Harrison Wells. Do you have somewhere I can freshen up and get a change of clothes?”

“Of course.”

“Right this way, Professor.”

Carter looked down at Grace. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Don’t worry.” She squeezed his hand. She looked at Barry. “I’m gonna go take a swim in my hydra-tank.”

“Okay, Kiddo.”

* * *

A newly refreshed Grace walked into the medical room right behind Cisco and smiled when she saw them kissing. “Yep... just when I forgot how awkward it was to walk in on you two,” Cisco muttered.

“Oh, Cisco, stop. It’s cute.”

“Well, you can get used to it again,” Caitlin told him.

Ronnie looked at Cisco and Grace. “So, you two have to be approaching a year together, right or over a year?”

Grace hummed awkwardly and looked at Cisco. “Um…yeah…”

“Grace and I aren’t together anymore,” he explained.

She nodded. “We discovered we’re in two different places in our lives.”

“Oh, God, I’m sorry,” Ronnie apologized.

Grace shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. You didn’t know.” She pushed her hair out of her face. “Have you seen Carter?”

Cisco nodded. “He was doing something with your suit.” He looked at her. “What could he be doing?”

She shrugged. “Not sure.” She smiled at Ronnie. “Good to finally meet you.”

“You too, Grace.” He waited for her to be out of the room and he looked from Caitlin to Cisco. “She with someone already?”

They shook their heads. Caitlin looked at her fiance. “No. They’re childhood friends. They’re each other’s rock, their safe place.” She sighed. “They rely on each other a lot.”

Grace walked into the alcove where her and Barry’s suit cases were housed and watched as her best friend pulled out an emblem of some kind. It was white with red trim with a yellow lightning bolt and… her heart swelled. “Is that Earth?”

He turned and smiled. “Yeah. I was trying to surprise you.”

She smiled. “Well, I’m surprised.” She took the emblem from him and looked at it. She had her own symbol. It still showed Barry’s symbol, but it was her own. She touched it and then looked up at him. “That was so sweet, Carter.” She rose up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

He smiled. “I can guess.” He sighed. “I know how important it is for you to be included, but separate from the Flash as Gaia, so I thought having your own symbol on your chest would help that.”

She nodded. “Absolutely.”

He smiled. “The best part is I installed a comm unit inside, a camera and vitals scanner. It’ll keep track of when you’re hurt and whatever else that I don’t want to think about.”

She smiled and tucked herself into his torso. “Thank you.” Her cell phone rang and she answered, “Hey dad. What’s up?”

“Get Carter and meet me at your old house. There’s something you gotta hear and he’s gotta see.”

“Okay. We’ll be right there.” She hung up and looked at her best friend. She looked at him. “Put it on my suit and lets go. Dad wants us to see something at my old house.”

He nodded and took the emblem from her. He placed it in the middle of the tank top like undershirt she wore. “You may need to get a longer shirt.”

She smiled. “We’ll talk about it later.”

* * *

Carter and Grace waited outside the yellow, blue and red home when Barry and Joe showed up. They all walked inside and Grace walked in, her high-heeled boots hitting the wood with a soft click. Barry looked around. “It's smaller than I remember.”

“That’s what I said,” she said as she hugged herself like she was trying to block out the cold.

“Yeah. It's because you're bigger. Have you been in here? I mean, recently.”

“No. I haven't been in this house since that night.”

“Bar?” Joe pointed to the mirror as Carter and Grace followed Barry. “This mirror... you remember it?”

“Yeah. It belonged to our grandma. How is it still here?”

“Just be glad it is. Look... I don't fully know how Cisco did it, but…”

“Did what? Joe, what are we doing here?”

Joe motioned for Barry to get out of the way. He turned the device on and all 3 of the kids saw Nora Allen in the dining room again. “Mom,” Barry said softly.

Grace’s breath hitched and she grabbed for Carter’s hand. Tears instantly filled her eyes.

Joe showed them the Speedster blurs. “You can definitely see two very fast people fighting around your mother.”

“Two speedsters.”

“You see that?” Joe asked.

“The blood?” Barry asked.

“Cisco and I had the DNA tested. It's yours.”

“What? That can’t--”

“No, it's not. That's impossible. I wasn't even downstairs yet.”

“No, Barry. Not that you. This you.”

“What?!” Carter and Grace said in unison.

“Cisco had the samples analyzed and the proteins in the blood were that of an adult, not a child.”

“Oh, my….God…” Grace gasped. “Barry….”

“But that means…”

“The second speedster, the one trying to stop the man in yellow…”

“Is the Flash. That's me.”

Grace let out a soft sob. “Of course,” she said, her voice thick. “It makes sense.”

“What does, Cricket?”

“Why I was locked in my room that night.” She seen the clueless look on her brother’s face and smiled. “Barry, ever since I was born, what have you always done? That you still try to do even though I’m twenty-three years old?”

Barry gave her a lopsided smile. “Protect you.”

She nodded. “It’s the only one that makes sense out of the two of you. Yellow Lightning wouldn’t have done it. He wouldn’t have cared enough.” She looked up at her brother. “But you would have. Like always. Without hesitation.”

He pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. “I always will.” He sighed into her hair. “I love you, Kiddo.”

“Love you too, Big Brother.”

Carter sighed. “So now what? Where do you take the investigation from here, Joe?”

“Um…ask Wells if time travel’s possible.”

“The theory’s possible, but the reality is improbable,” Grace said.

* * *

They went to Dr. Wells and talked about the possibility of time travel, but Wells, agreed with Grace. It was possible, but unrealistic. Grace glanced at the clock on her phone. “I gotta, um…make an appearance at work. Excuse me.”

“I’ll walk out with you, Gracie,” Carter said.

She walked into work to hear Mason being his usual cocky self with Iris around. As she approached them she heard, “He saved my friend's life. He was struck by lightning that night and Dr. Wells and his team kept him alive.” She thumbed at Grace. “Not to mention she was there.”

“So? Your friend wouldn't have needed saving if Wells hadn't zapped him in the first place.”

“It was an accident.”

“What if it wasn't?”

Grace rolled her eyes. “You know you’re worse than my brother is with his conspiracy theories, Mason. No Scientist is actually going to purposely hurt people,” she reminded him. “It’s not what they’re about.”

“And you’d know this how?”

“Because I’m a scientist--”

“Right. You’re a photographer--”

“Hey, she has several degrees in science, Mason. Before you bash her because she looks too pretty to be smart you may want to do your own research.”

“My best friend is a scientist, doctored and everything. He would never intentionally hurt anyone and I can’t believe that a man who not only saved my brother’s life but my own would do something like that.”

Iris spoke up again. “So you think Harrison Wells wanted the Particle Accelerator to explode? Why would he do that?”

“I don't know what goes on inside that building. But I think you know some people who do.” He holds out a danish to Iris.

“So you think I would investigate my friends because you got me a danish?”

“I think that you'll do it because you really want to know what goes on inside that building.”

Grace looked at her sister and rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

“Grace…”

The brunette shook her head and faced her sister as she walked away. “You do whatever you want but remember, Sis, Barry’s not going to appreciate you snooping around the guy that saved our lives.”

* * *

After spending a couple of hours at work, Grace left and headed to Carter’s place. She used her key and entered the loft and smiled when she heard Frank Sinatra’s The Way You Look Tonight filling the place. “Carter?”

“Kitchen, Sweetheart.”

She walked toward the kitchen area and sat down at the island. She sighed. “What are you doing?”

“Getting some wine. Want some?”

She nodded. “Please.”

“You okay, Babe?”

She shrugged. “I’m gonna be totally honest with you about something--”

“Like you always are.”

“Right, well, this is about the man who saved mine and Barry’s lives.”

“Okay. What?” He handed her a wine glass filled with Merlot.

“Dad and I are investigating him.”

“Which I knew. You told me.”

“However, now Mason Bridge has planted the seed of suspicion with Iris and I know her all too well. She’s going to investigate him, Carter.”

He picked up the towel and wiped his hands. “Do you think she’s in danger?”

She nodded. “Yeah. There have been suspicious disappearances **_**after**_** they talk to Harrison Wells.”

“Like who?”

“Simon Stagg. No one has seen him,” she told him. She exhaled. “Just trust me.”

“I trust you with my life. If you say that this happened then I believe you.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She smiled and hopped up on the counter. “Tell me about your travels.

* * *

Grace laughed at what Carter was talking about. “Man, I would _love_ to travel and see the world.”

“You should come with me when you can,” he told her. “I can take you to Greece. Crystal blue water and bright white sand. It’s like…stepping into paradise.” He smiled. “And it might help you find yourself again.”

Her phone buzzed in her blazer pocket as she nodded. She sat down her wine and pulled it out. Her stomach dropped. “Oh, God…”

“What is it?”

“Professor Stein’s been kidnapped by Eiling. Come on.”

He nodded and took her hand. “We’ll use the patio.”

She nodded. She looked at him. “Remember, please, don’t panic.”

“I remember,” he told her.

* * *

About ten minutes later, Grace showed up and rushed to her brother, Carter close behind. Barry had thin metal spikes sticking out of his body. “Hey, Barry. I’m here.”

“Gracie, it hurts!”

Tears sprang to her eyes again. “I know, I know.” She soothed him. She looked at the spikes. “What are they?”

“Kinetic energy spikes, I think,” Ronnie said.

She nodded. She watched as Caitlin was trying to be careful. “Caitlin, I love you, but you’re too slow.” She waved her fingers at her.

“Barry?”

“Let her do it!” he groaned out.

Grace took the tools from her and she grabbed one and then counted to 3 and pulled, he screamed in pain. “Sorry!”

“Keep going!” he groaned.

She kept going and had half them pulled out in rapid succession. Caitlin winced. “How can you do that without being in pain yourself because you’re hurting him. He’s your brother.”

She nodded. “I know. I was the splinter puller when we were kids. I’m just thinking of these as…” she pulled another, “…as really big splinters.”

She finished pulling the spikes.

* * *

Barry, Carter and Grace took them back to the house. They walked in and Barry began taking them back to the Iris’ old room. Grace excused herself. “I need to use the restroom.”

Barry sighed. Ronnie looked at him. “Is she going to be okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah. She and Cisco just broke up. She’s getting better, but sometimes it hits her.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Caitlin asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. She’ll be just fine.” He came around the corner and saw Joe coming in.

“We have guests.”

“Yeah, we do. I hope that's okay.”

“ _Mi casa_ ,” Joe said in response. “Where’s your sister?”

“Bathroom. Probably crying again.”

Caitlin smiled and said to Joe. “This is Ronnie.”

They shook hands. “Nice to meet you.” Then it dawned on him. “Ronnie, the…”

“Dead fiance,” Ronnie supplied.

“Right. Beer?”

Ronnie took it. “Thanks.”

“Dad? Barry?”

“Iris, hi.”

“Hi.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Uh, it's Tuesday. I was gonna make us dinner, remember?”

“Yep.”

“Yeah.”

“Here, I'll help. Got it.”

“I knew you'd forget. Well, there's plenty for everyone.” She looked at her dad. “I even invited Carter.” She smiled when she saw him. “Which he’s already here.”

He smiled. “I was having drinks with Grace when Barry called.”

“Caitlin, what brings you by?”

“There's a gas leak in my apartment, so Barry said that we could stay here.”

“Oh, that's sweet of him. And, uh, who's this?”

“This is, uh…”

“Her cousin,” Barry said.

“Sam. Visiting from Coast City,” Joe interjected.

“You look really familiar, Sam.”

“Yeah, I... I have... one of those faces. So what's for dinner?”

She told them what was for dinner and then looked at Joe. “Where’s Gracie?”

“Bathroom,” they all said in unison.

Iris nodded, then sighed. “Is this going to be as rough as the others or worse?”

“My guess?” Barry asked. “Just about as rough as the others.”

Iris nodded. “Noted.”

Grace walked out of the bathroom, her eyes red-rimmed and Caitlin looked at her. “How are you?”

She shrugged. “I’m okay, I guess.” She exhaled. “It’s a process, but…”

Joe walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Grace cupped his arms and he kissed her temple. “But she’ll be okay. We’re all here, so…”

Carter kissed her hair. “Like always.” He smiled at Joe. “Any new Jazz records?”

Iris walked into the kitchen to start dinner. Moments later they heard, “GRACE! I need you!” Iris yelled.

She looked at dad and then walked toward the kitchen, “Why?”

“Where’s the lighter fluid for the long lighter?” she asked from the kitchen.

Grace looked over her shoulder at her dad. “What the hell is she doing in there?” She walked into the kitchen. “Are you making a campfire?”

“No, the burner went out,” Barry said laughing.

“Oh, um…dad, isn’t the lighter fluid for the lighter on the back porch?”

“Yeah,” he said. Iris disappeared outside.

Grace saw everyone walk into the room and she looked at Barry. “Keep an eye out.”

He nodded. She bent forward, holding her hair back. She lightly began blowing and seconds later the flame was burner. “Iris! Never mind. Grace got the lighter working!” Joe called.

“We seriously gotta clue her in,” she muttered. She looked at Joe. “I’m putting some music on.”

“You gonna sing?”

She smiled. “Maybe.” She put on a song by Flo Rida and smiled at Carter. “Remember?”

He chuckled. “Joe, Iris, Barry.” He said and slipped in next to her and began the beginning part of the dance.

They walked into the room and watched as Grace and Carter did a hip-hop dance to Flo-Rida’s _Club Can’t Handle Me_. Caitlin’s jaw hit the floor. “I had no idea…” she said to Barry.

He nodded. “Angie and Mike paid for her dance lessons. It was originally for a play she was in.” He smiled as he watched them drop to the floor and come back up. “She loved how dancing made her feel so Mike said he’d pay for hers and Carter’s and…”

On the 2nd verse of upbeat music Iris looked at Barry and tilted her head to the living room. He held out his hands in an ‘after you’ type of gesture and she jumped in right next to Grace and he followed dancing next to Carter. They began dancing and then music slowed down and Barry and Iris stepped back.

Carter and Grace began their couple’s routine of dancing together and she jumped into his arms, wrapping her long legs around his waist for a moment before kicking one out and she spun. Right before the song ended, Barry moved Caitlin and Ronnie back. They watched as she did a bunch of backwards flips and then did one big one where she got air and landed just as the song ended.

Joe laughed, cheering. “That’s my girl!”

Grace laughed, panting. “God, I forgot how good that felt!”

Iris laughed. “Why do you think we always had you dancing? But when you got with Josh…”

She nodded. “I know. I stopped doing a lot of the stuff that I loved doing which carried over into my relationship with Cisco.” She took a deep breath and looked at Carter as Iris put on another CD. “Come outside with me?”

“Sure,” he said as she picked up the throw blanket off the couch and he held the door open for her. “How have you been?”

She nodded. “Pretty good.” She sighed. “I mean, I have my moments, but, all in all I’m good.” She exhaled. “You know…I’ve thought a lot about this since Cisco started closing himself off.”

“About what?”

“Relationships and what makes them last.”

He sat on the steps with her. “Okay, go.”

“I think one of the things that can make it work, like really work is friendship. Knowing you’re safe with that person to talk about **_**anything**_** you want or need to. I don’t think Cisco ever felt safe with me.” She exhaled. “I don’t know if that was my fault or what, but in my next one I want friendship. I want him to know he’s my best friend and he’ll always have my back through anything and everything.” She paused. “I want romance. I’m not saying that every night’s gotta be rose petals and candles, but I want him to be able to come up with romantic moments.

“I don’t really remember us being romantic with one another. I remember Valentine’s Day I’d watch the couples and want it, but I don’t remember either of us doing it.” She sighed. Without thinking she said, “And don’t even get me started on sex.”

“We’re going there?”

“Did you not want to?”

He shook his head. “No, go ahead.”

“He was great in bed, but…and this might sound shallow but I didn’t want great. I wanted **_**wow**_** …you know? The type of sex that your emotions are in it, you’re giving it your all. You know the intense, all-encompassing sex? The kind that you’re connecting on all levels, you know?” She exhaled. “The problem was with Cisco it was great sex, _amazing_ actually, but there was always this one thing missing--the deep connection that **_**I**_** needed.” She looked at Carter and then at the sidewalk. “I’m beginning to think it’s all in those dumb romance novels I used to read.”

He nodded. He knew exactly what she meant, because he wanted that too. “I wouldn’t mind meeting a girl that didn’t mind staying home and chilling with Netflix, you know like we used to do? Why does everything have to be a red carpet event? Why can’t we have our own on the couch, cuddling each other and just enjoying being…us?” He smiled. “Or someone who wouldn’t mind going up to my parents’ cabin for the summer and just relaxing.”

She smiled, joy on her face. “You want a girl that could appreciate the small things.”

“Exactly. Those momentary seconds where I’m thinking about you so I bought you a flower or those moments where I buy you your favorite chocolate bar. You know that kinda thing. The last girlfriend I did that with I did it for Valentine’s Day and did those custom made M & Ms and she got really mad.”

Grace couldn’t believe it. “Why’d she flip out?”

“Because it wasn’t diamonds or anything.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She folded her arms over her chest and sighed softly. “I don’t need diamonds or anything extremely expensive or fancy just something that shows me that you…or I mean, the guy cares, you know?” She exhaled. “Although, it’s not like I’ve ever held a man’s attention for longer than a few months. Cisco’s I held for a few months longer than anyone else, so that’s an improvement, but….” she exhaled.

“It’s not entirely the same. You deserve to be cherished, Gracie. To know that to someone out there that you’re the center of their universe just as you make them yours.”

She nodded. “Exactly.”

He took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’d consider myself lucky to be in the center of someone’s universe the way you make them.”

She looked up at him. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’ve always wanted to be with someone who thought of me the way I’d think of them. And now with me having money I seem to be the next eligible bachelor that girls want to nail down.”

She looked into his blue eyes and shook her head. “No. Don’t do it, Carter. You deserve someone who will love **_**YOU**_** not how much money is in your bank account. You’re such an amazing guy and I wish some girl would see you the way I’ve always seen you.”

“How that?”

She shook her head to push her flat curls out of her face. “Um…don’t hate me when I use these descriptors but it’s true. You’re sweet, incredibly kind, amazingly generous--you’d give someone you care about anything if they needed it--um, you’re an amazing friend. You’re loyal and will always be there for someone when the going gets tough. You’re funny, romantic and…” she sighed…”just wonderful.” She gave him the smile that she had no idea made his heart and stomach flutter in tandem. “And hopefully some day someone will see what I see because I know for a fact if it was me I don’t think I could let you go if I had you.” She immediately covered her mouth and her eyes got huge. “Sorry!”

“Did you not mean it?”

She exhaled. “It’s not that I didn’t mean it, but it’s not fair to you to admit something like that when I’m not ready to act on it.”

Carter watched as a leaf that was blowing in the breeze clung to her hair. He reached up to gently pull the leaf from her hair. He heard the slight intake of breath and smiled down at her. “Leaf,” he said softly.

She looked into his eyes, her heart racing. She felt the familiar tingle in her body she usually got when she thought or wanted a guy to kiss her and her heart actually skipped a beat. “Tha-thank you,” she stuttered.

“Hey, Gracie--”

Carter jumped back and they both looked at Joe. Joe winced. “Sorry. Um…dinner’s ready. Come on.”

“Thanks, dad. We’ll be right there.” She waited for the door to close and then looked up at Carter. “That dance we had in the living room got me thinking.”

“About?”

“Your offer at the loft--to go traveling with you.” She looked up at him as they walked to the door. “I think it’d be good for me. Maybe I could find the part of me I lost back when I was dating Josh.”

He nodded. “Maybe.” The sounds of old time Jazz can be heard through the window softly. “Cold?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No. Heat and cold doesn’t affect me anymore like it used to.”

“Then what’s with the shiver?”

“I don’t know. A bad feeling maybe.”

“What kind of bad feeling?”

She shrugged. “I don’t get them often. The last time I got one was the night that the particle accelerator exploded but I ignored it.”

“Maybe this time you shouldn’t ignore it.” He sipped his wine and

“I won’t, but I’m going to ignore it for now.” She smiled up at him before walking inside, “I’m hungry.”

Inside, Caitlin looked out the window and then over at the Barry, Joe and Iris. “She seems very zen. I thought she’d be an emotional wreck.”

Iris shook her head as she swallowed her pinot. “No. I don’t know it’s kinda weird. Carter’s always been her zen point. The one person out of any of us who can just chill her out.”

“He can usually tell what she needs before we do. It’s like they’ve got this psychic connection or something. It’s actually really cool. Just never play charades with them.”

“And I wouldn’t worry about her being a wreck,” Joe added. “She’s been doing it more at night when she’s alone…the whole sleeping alone thing. It’s usually when it hits the worst.”

“If they were so close like that, why didn’t they ever start dating?” Ronnie asked.

Joe, Iris and Barry exchanged a look and Barry answered, “That’s a good question. We’re not entirely sure, but we always thought they would.”

“God knows they’d be an amazing couple,” Iris gushed.

Grace smiled at them all. “Let’s eat, I’m starving!”

* * *

The next morning, Iris was walking through the offices of CCPN and stopped when Mason Bridge caught up to her, showing her a picture. “You said you knew some of the leftover scientists at the S.T.A.R. Lab.”

“Yeah. My sister was dating one of them.”

“What about a Caitlin Snow, M.D. You know her?”

“Yeah, I know her, why?”

“There was an incident at a local coffee shop. She was there.”

“That's Jitters. I used to work there. Is there anything you can't do?”

“Gimme this.”

“Witnesses swear they saw soldiers shooting the place up, so I contacted the Army's media relations division and asked, “Are soldiers permitted to operate like that on U.S. soil?” You know what they told me? Hooah.”

“That's weird, Caitlin didn't mention anything the last time I saw her.”

“Really?”

“When and where was that?”

“Yeah, I mean, I'm sure there's an explanation for all of this.” She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and sped dialed Grace. “And I’m going to ask my sister.”

* * *

Grace headed for Jitters, her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her jacket pocket and looked at the caller ID and then answered, “Hey, dad. What’s up?”

“It’s just you and me, Kiddo.”

“You and me for what?”

“To investigate into Wells. Cisco doesn’t think he did it and neither does Barry. So, it’s up to us.”

“And Carter,” she said. “He said earlier this morning that he’d help if you wanted him to.”

“Good. We could use his hackable skills maybe.”

She laughed. “Okay, dad. I’m going to get a large black coffee and head into work. If you need me, call me.”

“I will, Sweetheart. Thank you.”

She smiled. “Anytime. You’re my dad. And you believed me about the way Wells was treating Barry.” Her phone beeped with another call as she hung up. She answered again, “Hey, Iris, what’s up?”

“Do you have any idea as to why Caitlin would be at Jitters around the time that the Army shot the place up?”

“Um…no. I knew of an incident, but what Caitlin does on her personal time is no one’s business, Iris.” She tried to sound nonchalant as she said, “Why do you wanna know?”

“Would you tell me even if you were still with--”

She hung up and walked into the building. She slowed when she seen Mason Bridge standing there. “I should have known.” She folded her arms in front of her and looked Mason up and down and then looked at Iris. “I thought you’d have better taste on whom to take after in the journalism field, Iris.” She started heading for the Art Department doors.

Iris chased after her and said, “One could say the same for you, Grace.”

She turned once she got to her office door. “One, lose the big sister tone with me, Iris. It’s not going to work. Two, whom I’m friends with is none of your business. And third, Caitlin’s my friend and you’d be best to remember what happens when you attack my friends.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing I’m family.”

“If you were family you’d take the answer I gave you. I don’t know anything!” she screamed. “Happy?”

Iris looked into her eyes and realized she was tearing up. “Oh, Grace, I’m--”

“No!” she said through her tears. “Just leave me alone.” She turned to her office and walked in, shutting the door behind her.

Iris sighed and pulled her phone out. “Hey, Carter, it’s Iris. I did something stupid. You wouldn’t by any chance be willing to console Grace after I made her cry would you?” She paused. “I pushed on a subject and now she’s crying.” She shook her head and said, “No, I didn’t talk about Cisco per se, I just pushed about something and she’s now bawling in her office.” She smiled. “Thanks, Cart. You’re the best.”

* * *

Grace walked into S.T.A.R. Labs and stood next to Ronnie. “We need to…” she noticed the worried expressions and the intense vibe. “What’s going on?”

“Stein’s been taken by General Eiling.”

She glared. “Have I ever mentioned I really hate that guy?”

Barry fought a smirk. “A couple of times.”

“Where do you think Eiling took Professor Stein?”

“I imagine some off-the-books military research facility.”

“We have to get him back,” Barry urged.

“Easy…” Wells told Barry. “Eiling has already demonstrated he has the weaponry to disable The Flash, or worse.”

“Well, we can't let him turn Stein into a weapon,” Caitlin said.

“I agree with Caitlin.” 3 sets of eyes looked at her and she laughed. “Come on we knew it was coming.” She looked at everyone. “If Eiling gets a hold of Firestorm the military will have Super Soldiers. That’s not a good thing. This City would be under siege if Eiling saw fit. Just like in Starling last year with Slade Wilson and those Mirakuru soldiers.”

“Mirakuru…what?” Ronnie asked.

“The Japanese developed a bio-weapon back in either World War I or II can’t remember….anyway, this bio-weapon if ingested gave the recipient super-human strength and everything. Caitlin and Cisco came up with the antidote so that the Arrow and his team could put an end to it.” Grace sighed. “There is one more thing.”

“What?” Barry asked her.

“Well, um…” she glanced at Cisco. 

Barry knew what she was weary of. She didn’t want Cisco to get uncomfortable. So, he said, “Wait, wasn’t Carter always the one hacking into complex systems when we were growing up?”

“Hacking?” Caitlin was shocked. “Barry, hacking can get us into a world of hurt.”

“Not if you know someone who has the highest military clearance a civilian can have.”

“How did he get that?” Ronnie asked.

“He built the computer and security system that the military uses. I actually helped him with the computer system. I coded it, he did the rest.” She shook her head. “Anyway, um…since he has to do periodic checks he can hack into their system without getting into trouble.”

Barry smiled. “Call him. Ask him to get his butt down here. If he’s not working.”

“Carter doesn’t work,” she said absently as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

“What do you mean?” Caitlin asked. “Everyone works.”

“Well, he works, just not an everyday nine to five job.” She brought the phone to her mouth, “Hey, it’s me. Are you busy right now?” There was a pause. “Great. Do you think you can come to the lab and hack into the military’s system for us.” She paused again. “Well, Professor Stein was kidnapped by General Eiling--” She paused abruptly that time. “Okay, bye.” She smiled at her brother. “He doesn’t particularly like Eiling either. He’ll be here in fifteen minutes.”

He laughed. Ronnie looked at Wells. “Okay, besides, Mr. Hackable, how do we find him?”

They all looked in his direction. He was immediately weary. “What?”

Grace smiled. “Well, funny you should ask that, Mr. Raymond.”

“What…?” he asked a little afraid.

“Because the best way to find him is through you,” she told him.

* * *

Ronnie got hooked up to the electrodes and everything to read his internal and brain activity. After a few minutes, Caitlin said, “No abnormal brain activity. All vitals steady.”

“You really think Ronnie can somehow feel where they're keeping Stein?”

“There’s no reason why not,” Grace said.

“Ronnie got dizzy when the soldiers grabbed Stein, and Stein developed Ronnie's obsession with pizza.”

“And being that mentally connected for so long it wouldn’t surprise me if those effects are permanent.”

“Hey! Where is everyone?”

“We’re back here, CJ!”

Carter walked into the room and furrowed his brow slightly when he saw Ronnie all hooked up to the machines. “You sick?”

He shook his head. “They think I might be able to feel Stein. I don't feel anything right now.”

“Just keep trying,” Caitlin encouraged.

“Whatever this is, it doesn't have an on and off switch,” Ronnie said getting a little frustrated.

“It's possible it's just some kind of residual connection. A temporary link to your time together.”

Grace walked Carter into the Cortex and sat him at a computer. She turned to Carter. “What do you need?”

“What?” he asked.

“What do you need? To do your hacking thing, do you need anything from me?”

“Oh! Um…coffee, my Eminem mix disc.”

She nodded. “Doable, where’s the disk?”

“In my bag,” he said and walked to a computer.

She grabbed his bag and put it in a chair next to him. She walked away and grabbed his coffee.

* * *

She walked into the room where everyone was and Ronnie began feeling something. “Wait. I feel something. I'm... I'm cold.”

Grace wrote that down, with still in Central City and a question mark. As they waited for another clue or something, Ronnie suddenly bucked up in pain. “Oh, God.”

“You're okay, man, we got you,” Cisco said.

“What's happening to him?”

“Nothing's happening to him. It's happening to Stein, and Ronnie is feeling his pain. I was wrong. The connection's not temporary. It's only getting stronger,” Wells said.

“Just try and hold on,” Caitlin told him.

“Water. Water,” Ronnie begged.

Cisco handed him the water and he began cutting into his arm. “Ronnie! No stop!”

“No, Caitlin,” the Allen siblings said in unison.

“He's cutting himself,” Caitlin replied.

“I know. Let him,” Barry told her.

Grace looked at her. “You have to trust us, please?”

She stopped trying to stop him. They waited for a response to the word ‘where’ on their arms. “Nothing. Nothing, just...just cold. Like a metal surface. Pressure on and on and off. Tap, tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap, tap, tap.”

“Wait a second!” Grace exclaimed. “That’s not just taps.”

“It’s Morse Code,” Carter told him. “Repeat it. If you can give me the number I can tell you where Eiling is.”

“Really?” Caitlin said.

“Yeah, I’m already in the system. I just need the location.”

“Army bases sometimes go by numbers, like Area 51.”

Carter smiled. “Right. And now I know the number. I can fuck with Eiling.” He looked at Barry and Grace. “Get dressed I’ll have the location when you’re finished.”

Barry looked at Grace and then Carter. “Carter.”

He turned, “Yeah?”

“Your techno thing can it work on things that Eiling built?”

“Probably, since the decoder thing they tried using on me malfunctioned as they ran it over me, why?”

Barry slid his eyes to Grace. She nodded. He smiled. “Because you’re coming with us.” He grabbed his friend and walked into the changing room, telling him about the spikes the whole way in.

* * *

“I have no idea what I’m doing,” Carter told them as they stopped in front of the fence that protected the building.

“Stein's inside. I can feel our connection growing stronger, like he's pulling me.”

“It's as I feared…” Wells said through their earpieces, “…the Firestorm matrix is building toward a proximity reemergence. Like all matter, it yearns to be whole. If you do merge... we might not be able to separate you again.”

Carter looked at Barry and Grace, then Ronnie. “Hey, this is your decision, but if you’re connected this much and he dies, I’m afraid you may die too, Ronnie. And as much as I would hate for you and Caitlin to be separated again, you have to ask yourself if being forever merged versus dying….”

Ronnie nodded. He stopped. “Eiling’s got a gun to Stein’s head. He’s about to pull the trigger!”

“Barry,” Grace said.

He sped off and got Stein out of there.

Grace stood still and then moved in front of them. “We may have gotten him out, but we’re not going anywhere yet.”

“What?”

“Military trucks,” Carter said. He looked at Barry. “Do you trust me?”

Barry gave him a look and Carter laughed. “Let them fire at you, but if you trust me don’t touch it.”

He nodded. “What are you going to do?”

“You’ll see.”

“They’re getting closer.”

The military truck pulled up and a guy came up from the top, large gun in his hands. The man fired it and a triangular type piece came out of it, going right for Barry. Carter ran and stood in front of the projectile. He grabbed it with his hands and it immediately short-circuited. Carter looked at the men. “If you really want to take the Flash down, you’re gonna have to use something better than, Guys.”

Some of the chemical from it got on him however and he started to burn. Grace looked at her brother. “I can’t use my water here. There is none…but…we could create a tornado like we did that first night.”

Barry nodded. “Let’s do it.”

She smiled. “However, instead of me going around with you, I’m going to talk to the winds.”

He nodded. “Do whatever.”

She went into the sky and they watched from where they were. She shook her hair out of her way and then looked up at the sky. Just as she did that the wind began picking up. She looked down at her brother. “Go. I’m right behind you!”

He nodded. He went to the field and started running faster and faster in a circle. She flew to where her brother was, the winds coming with her and she levitated in about the middle of his circle. Carter watched in amazement as the siblings actually created a tornado.

While the siblings had things under control, Carter went to check on Professor Stein and Ronnie. When he found them he saw Eiling about to shoot them. He closed his eyes and whispered, “Grandpa, let’s hope what you taught me is still fresh.” He walked up to the man and clumsily disarmed him. He took the man’s gun and sighed. “Well, that went better than I predicted, but it could have been better.”

Barry walked toward him. “That’s okay. We’ll work on it. Maybe you could find someone on your travels.”

Barry looked at Ronnie, Carter and Grace. “Let’s go home.”

Grace nodded. “Please. I need a very hot and long bubble bath.” She looked at her brother as she levitated. “You think dad would let take a long bath?”

He laughed. “Probably.”

She landed softly and then looked at Carter. “Hold me or my hand?”

“Hand,” he said. “I wanna look while we fly.”

She nodded. “Good. It’s amazing. Come on.”

**************

Joe and Grace walked up the stairs of her old house and Grace rang the doorbell. “So why'd you bring us here?” Joe asked.

“I don't know how and I don't know when, but one day soon, I'm gonna be in this house again, fifteen years ago. And I'm gonna fail...unless this time, I don't.”

“What are you saying?”

“I know what he means,” Grace said. This enormous sense of dread settled in her gut. “You’re going to fix it.”

He nodded. “Knowing that we’re supposed to lose gives us the advantage.” He motioned to the projected images. “Those images are a lesson in what not to do. When I face off against the man in yellow, I won't make the same mistake twice.”

“You're gonna... change the past?”

“Joe... I'm gonna save our mom.”

Her heart stopped beating. “Barry, I don’t know…I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

“Why not?”

She rubbed her forehead and walked away from the two most important men in her life, then turned. “Because what if you fixing it changes everything?”

“Everything?”

“Yeah. Carter and I aren’t friends. You and Iris aren’t friends. We won’t live with Joe. We never would have met Caitlin and Cisco.”

“But we’d have mom. And dad wouldn’t be in prison.”

He wasn’t getting it. Her heart shattered. She had come to terms with mom’s death, but Barry hadn’t. “But the question is would all the changes and repercussions that will happen be worth it?”


	22. Out of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The other Mardon Brother shows up to avenge his little brother's death. 
> 
> Joe and Grace have a talk about her guilt about not feeling like she was grieving for her relationship with Cisco anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I timelined this story like they aired during the season. So, it's been about 6 to 7 weeks since Cisco and Grace's break up.
> 
> Except Nuclear Man and Fallout since it is stated that they happened all in the same day basically.

Joe walked into the dining room and handed Grace a beer. He sat across from her and swigged his own. “Gracie, what’s wrong?”

She sighed. “I’m feeling guilty. I’ll tell you why the first one is eating at me.”

He nodded.

She took a swig of her beer. “I feel guilty because of me not wanting anything to change if Barry stops Yellow from killing mom.” She looked at Joe and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “I miss mom **_**every**_** single day and I think it sucks that this guy killed her and daddy was framed for it, but dad, I **_**LOVE**_** my life. And besides some little tweaks with me personally I like the person that both of those events molded.” She looked at Joe. “Is it wrong of me to not want him to change anything?”

“No,” he said shaking his head. “Absolutely not, Princess. You’re entitled to the way you feel. You were two and half, three years younger than Barry was when your mom died and your dad was sent to prison. You’ve adjusted to the way life is now. I don’t think Barry has. Not really. I think he believes it’s his responsibility to set things right.”

She exhaled. “And I’m also feeling guilty because I’ve been thinking a **_**lot**_** about me and Carter…in the romantic sense.” She looked at her dad. “I’ve been thinking about what it would feel like to be able do couple’s things with him.” She lifted her eyes from the brown bottle. “Then I start thinking about Cisco and how we just broke up. And how I’m an awful person because I’m thinking like that.”

He chuckled softly. “Baby, you’re not an awful person. You guys broke up, what? Six, seven weeks ago. Moving on is a relative thing. It’s a personal choice. I’m not saying you are ready to move on, but Baby, if you were then that’s up to you.”

“But I read somewhere that if you’ve been together for a year then take a year--”

He shook his head. “No. Honestly it all depends on you and how far your relationship had progressed. I think why you’re feeling guilty is because you’re just now thinking of what comes next and it’s making you think that you should be still grieving. When in actuality, I think you’re now beginning to mend and move on. So, what if you’re just thinking about it, Sweetheart. It’s just thoughts right now.”

“But what if those thoughts lead to action?”

He shook his head. “Then they lead to action and you deal with them then. But Grace, honey, there is no set amount of time, no timeline of how long you should grieve before the thought of moving on starts.” He tapped his temple. “That’s all here,” he tapped his chest, “and here. It’s all up to how you’re feeling.”

She nodded. “So why am I feeling guilty?”

“Because you’re a good person and the last thing you would want is to hurt him.” Joe’s phone buzzed. He looked at the message curiously. “Huh.”

“What?”

“Silent alarm has been tripped at the morgue…”

“Why?”

He shook his head. “Go. Meet up with your brother. I’ll see you later.”

She nodded and spun into her suit.

* * *

She caught up to her brother at the intersection downtown. He looked around everywhere. She tapped her chest. “Hey, Big Brother, you okay?”

“Yeah. Where are you?”

“Look up.”

He looked up and she waved. He smiled. “I need to talk to you later.”

“Yeah, me too,” she said. She smiled as she said, “Race ya there,” then she jet-propelled into the air.

He chuckled and took off in a boom. He beat her….as always. She landed gracefully onto the pavement and they both cautiously walked inside. She saw the coroner first. She walked to him, her boots lightly clicking on the floor. She saw the liquid on the floor and with her gloved hand she started to touch it.

“Grace, don’t!” he exclaimed.

She looked over shoulder. “Would you relax?” She touched the liquid and then brought it to her nose. “It’s water. Melted ice to be exact.”

“Melted ice?” Cisco asked through her comm.

“Yeah. There’s still a piece of it melting next to his hand.” She sighed, stood and put her hands on her hips. “What now?”

“I’m calling Joe. You’re going to get out of here.”

She nodded. “Right. The whole Grace Allen wouldn’t be at crime scene thing. Okay.” She kissed his cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you, Kiddo.”

* * *

The Morgue was crawling with police and forensic personnel. Captain Singh looked at Joe as he walked into the room. “The mayor's made this high priority.”

“Copy that, Captain.”

The Captain rushed off and ran into Barry on his way. “Aah. Oh. Allen, my fiance just bought me this!”

“Yeah, I'm so sorry, Captain.”

“Eh! Just help Joe find out who did this.”

“Mm-hmm.” Barry approached Joe as he came to the younger man.

“What's with all the water? Did the sprinkler system go off or something?”

He sighed. “No, we checked all the sprinklers. They're all intact.” He walked over to the body and picked up a chunk of ice with tweezers. “But look at this.” He held it up to Joe.

“What is that, ice?”

“Mm-hmm. The coroner has multiple impact bruises on his torso, all the size of a tennis ball. Judging by the amount of ice and water on the ground, I'm guessing he was killed by hail.”

“Hail? In here?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think this was Snart?”

“No, his cold-gun couldn't have done this.”

“Joe, we got something,” Eddie said. “The Coroner's office just installed an automated dictation system. Listen to this.”

The Coroner on tape: “ _Please, no more_.”

Man on tape: “ _I'll stop when you tell me…_ ”

Coroner on tape: “ _Stop_.”

Man on tape: “ _Who killed him?_ ”

“I know that voice,” Joe said with certainty. “That's Mardon.”

“ _I want a name_.”

“Clyde Mardon's dead,” Eddie reminded him.

“It's not Clyde Mardon. It's his brother, Mark.”

Coroner on tape: “ _It was Detective West. He shot him. Detective Joe West killed your brother_.”

Mark on tape: “ _He will pay for what he did_.”

* * *

**-MEANWHILE…**

“Please tell me you still like glazed donuts since your break up?”

Grace looked up from the contact sheet she was inspecting and smiled when she saw Carter standing, looking very tall, in her office doorway. She put the marker down and the eyeglass. “They are still one of my favorite things in the world.”

She looked even more beautiful today than ever. Very sophisticated. Her dark hair was pulled up into an intricate updo, she wore a sunshine yellow blazer over a black dress. His heart began to beat more rapidly. “You look beautiful.” His heart somersaulted when he seen the pure happiness in those blue eyes of hers.

“Thank you,” she said softly, blushing a little. She looked him up and down and her stomach somersaulted and her heart fluttered wildly. He looked hot in his casual clothes. A green button down shirt and a pair of tight fitting black jeans. “Very casual chic, Stephens.”

He smiled and sat down in the chair across from her. He put the bag of donuts on her desk, long with the 2-cup carrier. She moved aside what she was working on and opened the pastry bag. She pulled one out. “How did you know I hadn’t ate breakfast?”

He shrugged. “Because I hadn’t. Thought I’d take a shot.”

They started talking as they ate, filling each other in on their day. “Hey, Allen, what’s with your brother?”

Her head shot up and she saw Linda walking in. She folded up the check again and said, “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

Linda looked down and she saw the handsome green eyed blond man. “Boyfriend?”

She shook her head. “No. Not yet.” She smiled. “Best friend. Linda Park, Sports Reporter, meet Dr. Carter Stephens.”

“Ahh…the newest Billionaire Boyfriend,” she smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too, Miss Park.”

Grace wiped her mouth. “What did my brother do?”

She took a seat next to Carter. “Well it’s nothing that he’s done intentionally, but I keep getting this vibe that there’s something more between them.”

“Hey, Grace, Eric called. Do you have the pic approvals?” Audrey asked.

She nodded. “Yeah.” She looked at Linda as she searched for a file folder. “I don’t know. He hasn’t told me anything. He’s talked about you a lot, but nothing about Iris.” She got the maroon folder and put a post-it on it. She quickly wrote a note to him and stood.

Seeing her in the dress and heels sent his libido to about 3,000. Her body looked amazing. His pulse fluttered and his heart pounded. Grace walked back to her desk and looked at Carter. “Has he said anything to you?”

He shook his head. “No. We had lunch yesterday and he never said anything.”

Grace’s phone buzzed, her stomach dropped. “Oh, God…”

“What?” Carter asked.

“It’s dad.”

He picked up the paper bag and tossed it into the trash. “Let’s go.”

She grabbed her phone and the cheek and hurried out the door. She turned back to Linda. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help, Linda. Really.”

“It’s okay, Grace. I thought I’d ask.”

She nodded. She rushed out of CCPN with Carter right beside her. They got into his Mercedes and he drove through the city.

* * *

They walked into the Lab, laughing about whatever was said in the parking lot. She looked at the group. “What’s going on?”

“Joe’s being targeted by a Meta.”

“What?” Carter asked. “Why?”

“Because his brother died and he blames Joe.”

“So Clyde Mardon has a brother?”

“And both brothers survived the plane crash,” Wells explained, “and then the dark matter released from the particle accelerator explosion affects them both in virtually the same way.”

“Yeah, only Mark's powers seem to be a lot more precise. To be able to control the weather like that, indoors?”

“You'd have to be a Weather Wizard.”

Grace shook her head, but she laughed.

“Ooh, been waiting since week one to use that one.” He took a drink of his slushy and got a brain freeze for his trouble. “Mm!”

“Trigeminal headache?”

“What?”

“Trigeminal headache. Brain freeze.”

“Then why don't you just call it a brain freeze?”

Carter looked at Barry. “Just a thought, but the explosion was what, fifteen months ago? That might account for the reason why his powers are more controlled. He’s had time to learn control.”

Wells nodded. “The great doctor has a point.”

“So I'm guessing you running around a twister in the opposite direction isn't gonna to do the trick this time.”

Barry shook his head. He looked at Grace. “When we were discussing your powers, did you say you could control the weather too?”

She nodded. “Yeah. If the weather affect is elemental then I can do it.”

He nodded. “Then you’re taking point on this.”

Wells looked at Grace, then Barry. “Are you sure that’s a good idea.”

“She knows his powers, Doctor.”

Joe looked at Grace. “With everything,” his eyes slid to Cisco, then back to her. “do you think you could do it?”

She nodded. “I’m getting good at compartmentalizing my feelings about situations.” She sighed.

“I just remembered,” Cisco interjected. “During our run-in with Mardon, Clyde Mardon, I was tinkering with something to help attract unbound atmospheric electrons.”

“Like a grounding mechanism?”

“Yes, 'cause the only way that Mardon can control the weather…” Joe’s phone buzzed, “is if he can tap into the atmosphere's natural electrical circuit, and if we take away that circuit,” He pulled the straw from his drink, “clear skies.”

“Ooh. That’s good,” Grace said.

Joe looked at Grace, then Barry. “Singh's checking in. I gotta go.”

“Yeah, I'll meet you at the station.”

“Joe, we’ll find Mardon. Don't worry,” he assured him.

“I'm not worried at all.”

“Well, he's taking being targeted by a revenge-seeking meta-human rather well, I must say,” Wells said.

“He trusts us,” Grace said looking down at Wells.

Wells was too busy with concern for Barry. “Don't worry, Barry. Joe will be fine, I promise.”

“Yeah, no, I know. I actually wanted to talk to you about something else. You and Grace.”

“Mm-hmm?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Um... Look, last night, on my way to the morgue, I saw something. What'd you see? I was running and I turned and I saw myself. Or I don't know, another Flash running beside me.”

“Really?” Grace asked.

“Interesting.”

“Yeah. What do you think it was?”

Grace opened her mouth to say something, but Wells butted in.

“Could be an optical illusion, a mirroring effect caused by wind shear and light, a speed mirage, if you will.”

“It didn't seem like that.”

Grace sighed. “I don’t even know why I try.”

He shook his head. “It was...he seemed real.”

“I tell you what. Let's focus on finding Mardon, and once he's safely contained in The Pipeline, we'll investigate this.”

Barry nodded and caught up to Grace. “Hey, wait,” he said and stopped Carter too. “I need your help.”

“Sounds like Wells has it all figured out.”

He sighed. “Grace, please.”

She sighed and looked at him. “What do you need from me?”

“Well, both of you….your thing used to be physics. Could you look into what this means?”

Carter looked at Grace, then at Barry. “Yeah. Consider it done.” He looked at his watch. “I gotta go. Mom wanted me to help her with something since dad is out of town.” He bent down and kissed Grace’s cheek. “Call you later.”

“Okay. Tell your mom I said hi.”

“I will.”

She looked at her phone. “Ooh! Gotta go. Staff meeting in the art department.” She looked at Barry. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”

“Okay. Thanks, Grace.”

She smiled. “Anytime, Big Brother. Love you.”

“Love you, Kiddo.”

* * *

Iris walked to Grace’s office after talking to Eddie, and tapped on the door. Grace looked up and smiled. “Hey!”

“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure,” she said. “I welcome the distraction. I’m starting to see double.”

“What are you working on?”

“Something for Barry,” she said. “He asks me sometimes to look up the science stuff to cut some of his load.”

She nodded. “So, um….last night we went bowling. And Eddie and I saw Barry and Linda.”

She nodded. “I know, Linda said something to me about it.” She leaned back in her chair. “What happened?”

“Well, I invited them to join us.”

She hissed through her teeth. “That was your first mistake.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “Eddie probably wanted a date with you. Enjoying something we enjoyed as kids…with just you. Not having your best friend and his girlfriend joining you.”

“I didn’t mean to…”

She nodded. “I know.” She leaned forward. “Iris, I’ve been noticing something I think you need to seriously think about too.”

“What?”

“You’ve been acting weird. Ever since Barry told you how he felt about you, there’s been this weird thing with you.”

“Thing?”

“Jealousy or longing maybe, I don’t know,” Grace clarified. “I do know though, if you don’t want to lose Eddie and break Barry’s heart then reign it in, because it’s not fair to either of them. If you can have Eddie, why can’t he have Linda?”

The loud thunder clap got Grace’s attention and she turned her chair to look outside. Her stomach flipped as her heart beat erratically. “Shit,” she whispered. She looked at Iris. “I gotta go.”

“What? Why?”

“Um….told Carter I’d meet him at his mom’s for a late lunch.”

Grace flew into the sky and closed her eyes. She cleared her mind and seen Joe and Barry driving down one of the main streets in the city. She took off in dead flight. She got to them just as the car was exploding. She landed between the two of them. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” they both said.

“How’d you know?”

“I heard the thunderclap,” she said. “Not exactly sure how. Maybe my senses are tuned into the weather and environmental changes too.” She looked at her dad and brother. “Stay here.”

“Grace--”

“Stay there,” she said firmly. She stood and stepped over them. She stood in the middle of the road, blocking Mardon from leaving. “Get out of the truck.”

He revved the engine. She narrowed her eyes and the ground started to shake. “Get out of the truck, now!”

He continued to try to make the weather deter her from his escape, but she held up a hand and made a fist and the rainstorm stopped. She smirked at him. “I can do that too.” She walked toward him as he barreled the truck in her direction.

“GAIA!” Joe and Barry yelled.

To their surprise, she took her fist and slammed it into the truck, stopping it on impact and Mark flew out the windshield. When he landed, he scrambled to his feet and ran. Grace exhaled and walked back to Joe and Barry, helping them to their feet. “Nice,” Joe told her.

She smiled. “Thanks.” She shook her head. She held up a finger. “Just a second.” She flew into the air and levitated. She looked up into the storm clouds and blew, they moved, and the sun shone again. She landed. “Much better.”

“So, how did you punch the truck without breaking your hand?” Joe asked her.

“Ferrokinesis.”

“Ferro-what?” Joe asked.

She laughed. “Ferrokinesis. Using my mind.” She smiled up at him. “It’s one of the abilities that comes with the solid element of my powers. Tell you about it later.”

* * *

Grace laughed as she stepped off of the elevator with Carter. She saw Cisco talking to Joe. She took Carter’s hand and pulled him in the direction of the other 2 men. “Hey, Joe... I know you got a lot going on right now, but... you mentioned Doctor Wells might have had something to do with Barry's mother's murder. Why did you think that?”

“Oh, it doesn't matter. I was wrong.”

“But you seemed really sure of it.”

“Look, Cisco, I can't talk about this right now, okay?” Joe walked off.

Grace said goodbye to Cisco and watched him leave with Carter standing next to her. As the man in the baseball cap walked past her she felt something on him. She froze only for a moment. “That’s him.” She looked at Carter. “Call Barry,” she said under breath.

She got past Mardon and looked at Joe. “Hey, dad. I thought we could go to dinner.”

“Uh…yeah.”

“I heard you were looking for me. Here I am.”

“Mardon.”

“Hey, Joe. I can call you Joe, can't I?”

Grace took his hand and looked at Mardon.

“Figured we don't got to be too formal seeing as you put two bullets in my brother's chest.”

“Your brother killed my partner and a whole lot of innocent people, and threatened to kill even more.”

There was a rumbling thunder clap outside. “Yeah, Clyde was no saint, but he was family. If you can't protect your family, the least you can do is avenge 'em.” Again thunder clashed.

“This is between us,” Joe said stepping toward him.

Grace took the opportunity to leave to get changed.

“Nobody else needs to get hurt.”

“But they are gonna get hurt,” he flung him into the bullpen.

Eddie attempted to run toward him. “Joe!”

“No!”

“I'm not gonna be so easy to put down, Joe.”

“Take him down!” Eddie yelled.

“No, run!”

Grace tapped her earpiece. “Barry.”

“I’m coming, Kiddo. Be prepared. Once I use that wand you might not be able to use the weather abilities.”

“I know. I got others I can use.” She sighed. “Gotta go.” She appeared as Gaia. “MARK!”

“Ahh…the weather princess.”

She glared at him. “Gaia, jackass.” She glared at him. “Bring it.”

“I’m not here to play with you.”

“Too bad,” she said. “Joe West is a friend of me and my brother’s. And we don’t take too kindly to people messing with our friends.”

He struck her with lightning and Joe screamed out to her. He watched as her entire body seemed to glow a bluish-white and then she pushed her hands out and hit him with the same lightning. He slid across the floor on his ass. She panted as her eyes went from bluish-white to her usual blue. She smirked. “You’re gonna have to do better than that.”

The Flash showed up and she backed away. She knelt down next to Joe as Barry used the wand and took the atmospheric stuff out so that Mardon couldn’t use his powers. She kept an eye on Mardon, but once his powers were out, he was gone. Joe quickly got up and went to his Captain. She stood and looked at the scene, then at Flash. “We have to do something. He saved Joe’s life, Flash.”

He nodded. He zipped to him and lifted the man up, taking him to the hospital.

* * *

Grace showed up to the hospital not long after Barry had and was pacing. She smiled at the man that was looking really worried. “Um….are you Rob?”

He nodded. “Do I know you?”

“No,” she said. “I don’t think so.”

Joe stood. “Rob, this is Barry’s sister, Grace. Grace, this is Captain Singh’s fiance.”

She smiled. “It’s really good to finally meet you.” Her smile widened. “From all the barking he does, you take very good care of him.”

He laughed. “Thank you,” he said, his voice shaking.

“I’m sure he’ll be just fine, Rob--may I call you Rob?”

He nodded. “Sure.”

The doctor came out when the room fell silent from worry. Joe bounced up. “How is he, doctor?”

“We're stabilizing him. He's experiencing some paralysis in his lower extremities.”

“Oh, my God,” Rob muttered.

Grace walked to him and put an arm around his shoulders.

“The hardest thing to gauge right now is the extent of his neurocognitive deficits. So he may not be the same person you remember.”

“Can I see him?” Rob asked.

“I'm sorry, visitation's for family only.”

“Being his fiance makes him family, doctor.”

“Uh, sure.” She showed him into the room.

Joe stopped her. “Will he be able to return to the force?”

“I'm actually not sure he'll be able to walk again.”

Joe looked at his kids and then walked off. Grace sighed. “Dad.”

“Joe, where’re you going?”

“I need to end this.”

“Not by yourself.”

He turned on them both. “Yes, by myself! I know him! I can find him. I don't want anybody else getting hurt, especially Iris, Grace and you.”

“Iris is fi…”

“Mardon said he was going to avenge his brother. That goes beyond me. It goes all the way to you three. You stay with Iris, and you keep her safe. Do not leave her side.”

“Yeah, all right.”

Grace sighed. “Dad.”

He turned again. “Stay with Iris.”

She released a shaky breath. “Barry.”

He pulled her in for a hug. “Come on. Let’s go find Iris.”

* * *

They tried CCPN to find Iris, but she wasn’t there. So, they headed to the house. And low and behold, she was there. Grace pulled her jacket off. “Hey, have you heard from Dad? He's not answering his cell.”

“Nope,” Grace said. “Been looking for you though.

“Uh, no. I haven't talked to him.”

She sighed. “I'm starting to worry about him. What are you doing home so early?”

“I was looking for you, actually. I just met your friend Mason, and he said he had some kind of proof that Dr. Wells did something. Do you know what it is?”

“No, he hasn't told me.” The 3 of them fell silent.

“All right. So, how are things going with Lin-dah?”

“Oh, God,” Grace snickered.

“Why do you say it like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like how you used to always say "Beck-yee Coo-per.""

“Oh, come on. Becky Cooper was a nightmare of a high school girlfriend, and you should have never dated her.”

“She’s got you there.”

“What?”

“She hated me,” Grace said. “And you always said you’d never date anyone who hated me or Iris.”

“Okay, so you're saying that Linda is "Becky" material?”

Iris sat on the couch, tucking her legs under her. “I mean, I wouldn't go that far. She's... hot and nice and smart and she is really good at her job. I just... I don't think that she's the right one for you.”

“Then who is?”

Grace watched them. You could cut the tension with a knife. She seen the look on Iris’ face. She was finally feeling it. Her cell phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket. She looked at the caller ID. She answered, “Hey.” She paused. “What?” She released a gasping breath. “When?”

“Grace?” Barry asked.

She hung up. “That was Eddie,” she said through the tears that were forming.

“Why didn’t he call me?”

“He said he couldn’t get through,” she said. “He’s got him, Barry. He’s got him.”

“No!” Iris almost screaming.

Barry looked at Grace. “Gracie, Sweetheart.”

She looked into his face. “What?”

“Call Carter.”

She nodded. She dialed his number. “Hey, Carter.”

At the Stephens Residence, Carter heard the hitch and the different pitch in her voice. “Cricket? What’s wrong, Sweetheart?”

“Mardon’s got dad.” She started crying. “I need you!” she cried.

“I’ll be there. Where are you?”

“We’re going to…to…to the precinct!”

“Okay. Just hang tight, I’ll be there.” He hung up and looked at his mom. “I gotta go. West Family crisis. Grace needs me.”

* * *

Carter rushed into the precinct and looked everywhere for Barry, Iris and Grace. Finally finding them he rushed up to them as Eddie was making his speech. “Any news yet?”

Grace fell into his arms not worrying about whether he’d catch her. He always did. He held her and soothed her. Barry looked at him and shook his head. “Not yet.”

“I can't believe this is happening.”

Eddie’s speech continued, as Barry turned to Iris and tucked a hand behind her head to get her to look at him. “We'll find him.”

Iris looked away. Barry got her attention again. “Hey, look at me, all right? I promise I will bring him back to you.”

Her cell phone rang and she answered, “Hello?”

“I have your father. He's a little broken, but still alive. If you want him to stay that way, come to the waterfront, south side. Oh, and Iris, you tell the police, your father's dead.”

Iris turned to them all. “He has my dad. He says if I tell anyone, he'll kill him. He wants me to meet him at the waterfront.”

“All right, I'm coming with you.”

“We’re all coming with you,” Carter said. Iris looked up at him. He smiled. “He may not be family to me like you three, but Joe West has always been good to me.”

“Okay. Let's go,” Barry said as he and Grace grabbed their bags.

They walked toward the elevators as Linda was getting off. “Barry.”

“Hey.”

“Can I talk to you for a second?”

“No, Linda, I'm sorry, I really can't right now.”

“Of course not.” She looked at Iris.

“Look, it's not like that It's an emergency.”

“A family emergency,” Grace added. “We have to go.”

*****************************

They got to the docks and Grace noticed the weather was rolling in with a storm.

“What do we do?”

“He'll find us.”

They looked at the storm rolling in. “Oh, my God,” the girls said in unison. The thunder rumbled.

“Barry,” Grace said staring at it.

“Iris, you need to get out of here, okay? You need to get as far away from here as possible.”

Grace turned to Carter. “Go with her.”

“No, Grace--”

“Go!” she screamed. “I can’t do this and worry about you too!”

“I am not leaving you,” Iris told him.

“Iris, please!”

“Listen to me, ever since the night that you told me how you felt, I have not been able to stop thinking about you. At first, I was really mad, and then I realized that the reason that I couldn't stop thinking about you was because I didn't want to.”

He smiled. “I've never stopped thinking about you.”

Grace sighed as they kissed. “Finally. Takes dad getting kidnapped but she finally admitted it.”

“Come back to me, Gracie.” She nodded. He kissed her forehead. “I love you, Grace.”

Her heart thudded. She exhaled. “I love you.”

He stepped back. “Go,” he told them both. “I’ll keep her safe. I promise. Go.”

Barry turned to Grace. “How do you wanna do this?”

“I gotta go in.”

“In the water?”

She nodded. “I’m going to see if I can dissipate it from the water. However, I want you to create a vortex.”

“Can I go that fast?”

She exhaled as the storm got worse. “We’re about to find out.”

Barry looked at Grace. “Do it.”

She nodded. Like the old TV shows with the heroes and how they got in their super suits Grace spun quickly.

Barry looked at Iris. “I am so sorry. I didn't want you to find out this way.” As Grace got in her suit, Barry speedily got into his and Grace knew what was going on.

Grace stopped, completely in her suit. While Barry was in his. He looked at his sister. “Go.” They left.

She nodded. She pushed off the ground and in a booming roar she was in the air. She flew over the water and then went in. Barry began running back and forth on the shoreline.

The Allen kids, began working together. Barry was running up and down the coast and Grace was calming the waters with her mind.

However, Barry was moving so fast, that he seemed to have ended up back to yesterday. He looked around and it was everything that had happened the other night. The fighting dogs, the woman trying to get a taxi. Did he just time travel?

“Hey, Big Brother, you okay?”

He looked up and there was Grace, hovering above him. “Uh….”

Grace looked at him. “You okay?”

“Uh….” he looked around again. “….Oh, boy….”


	23. Rogue Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry has returned a day into the past. To ensure they don't have a repeat of what happened before, Barry catches Mardon before he can cause a problem. The thing is, he may have created a whole new set of problems...
> 
> Captain Cold and his Rogues have returned and kidnap someone close to Cisco and to Team Flash.
> 
> Grace figures things out and Cisco discovers that he is ready to move on.

He looked around and it was everything that had happened the other night. The fighting dogs, the woman trying to get a taxi. Did he just time travel?

“Hey, Big Brother, you okay?”

He looked up and there was Grace, hovering above him. “Uh….”

Grace looked at him. “You okay?”

“Uh….” he looked around again. “….Oh, boy….”

Through their comm they heard, “Hey, what's going on? Dude?”

“Yeah, Cisco. I'm...here…”

“What happened? Why'd you stop?”

“I just got a little disoriented.”

“Disoriented?” Grace questioned in a whisper. What was he talking about? He never did.

“Well, you need to make up some time, man. You better hurry up.”

“Hurry? What are you…?”

Grace levitated a little bit lower. “B?”

“Hurry, as in get to the morgue.”

“The morgue? I was there. Yesterday.”

Okay, now she knew something was up. “What?”

“What are you talking about? Come on, you gotta go,” Cisco motivated.

* * *

“Please tell me you still like glazed donuts since your break up?”

Grace looked up from the contact sheet she was inspecting and smiled when she saw Carter standing, looking very tall, in her office doorway. She put the marker down and the eyeglass. “They are still one of my favorite things in the world.”

She looked even more beautiful today than ever. Very sophisticated. Her dark hair was pulled up into an intricate updo, she wore a sunshine yellow blazer over a black dress. His heart began to beat more rapidly. “You look beautiful.” His heart somersaulted when he seen the pure happiness in those blue eyes of hers.

“Thank you,” she said softly, blushing a little. She looked him up and down and her stomach somersaulted and her heart fluttered wildly. He looked hot in his casual clothes. A green button down shirt and a pair of tight fitting black jeans. “Very casual chic, Stephens.”

He smiled and sat down in the chair across from her. He put the bag of donuts on her desk, long with the 2-cup carrier. She moved aside what she was working on and opened the pastry bag. She pulled one out. “How did you know I hadn’t ate breakfast?”

He shrugged. “Because I hadn’t. Thought I’d take a shot.”

They started talking as they ate, filling each other in on their day. “Hey, Allen, what’s with your brother?”

Her head shot up and she saw Linda walking in. She folded up the check again and said, “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

Linda looked down and she saw the handsome green eyed blond man. “Boyfriend?”

She shook her head. “No. Not yet.” She smiled. “Best friend. Linda Park, Sports Reporter, meet Dr. Carter Stephens.”

“Ahh…the newest Billionaire Boyfriend,” she smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too, Miss Park.”

Grace wiped her mouth. “What did my brother do?”

She took a seat next to Carter. “Well it’s nothing that he’s done intentionally, but I keep getting this vibe that there’s something more between them.”

“Hey, Grace, Eric called. Do you have the pic approvals?” Audrey asked.

She nodded. “Yeah.” She looked at Linda as she searched for a file folder. “I don’t know. He hasn’t told me anything. He’s talked about you a lot, but nothing about Iris.” She got the maroon folder and put a post-it on it. She quickly wrote a note to him and stood.

Seeing her in the dress and heels sent his libido to about 3,000. Her body looked amazing. His pulse fluttered and his heart pounded. Grace walked back to her desk and looked at Carter. “Has he said anything to you?”

He shook his head. “No. We had lunch yesterday and he never said anything.”

Grace’s phone buzzed, her stomach dropped. “Oh, God…”

“What?” Carter asked.

“It’s dad.”

He picked up the paper bag and tossed it into the trash. “Let’s go.”

She grabbed her phone and the cheek and hurried out the door. She turned back to Linda. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help, Linda. Really.”

“It’s okay, Grace. I thought I’d ask.”

She nodded. She rushed out of CCPN with Carter right beside her. They got into his Mercedes and he drove through the city.

* * *

They walked into the Lab, laughing about whatever was said in the parking lot. She looked at the group. “What’s going on?”

“Joe’s being targeted by a Meta.”

“What?” Carter asked. “Why?”

“Because his brother died and he blames Joe.”

“So Clyde Mardon has a brother?”

“And both brothers survived the plane crash,” Wells explained, “and then the dark matter released from the particle accelerator explosion affects them both in virtually the same way.”

“Yeah, only Mark's powers seem to be a lot more precise. To be able to control the weather like that, indoors?”

“You'd have to be a Weather Wizard.”

Grace shook her head, but she laughed.

“Ooh, been waiting since week one to use that one.” Cisco got brain freeze and Barry and Caitlin pointed it out together…at the same time.

Grace watched and listened as they talked about Mark’s powers and Barry seemed to be able to repeat what was being said before anyone said it. She looked at her brother. “What’s going on with you? You’ve been acting really weird since last night.”

He shook his head. “Um….”

“Mr. Allen, may I talk to you for a minute.”

Barry said yeah and then looked at Grace, “Can I talk to you about something later?”

She nodded. “Absolutely. Is it about how you’ve been acting really weird?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I need to tell someone and no one else will listen.”

She smiled and touched his arm affectionately. “You can always tell me, Big Brother. Doesn’t matter what it is. You could tell me you saw pink elephants and I would believe you. I’d think you were a little crazy, but I’d believe you.”

He laughed. “I know and thank you.”

Barry and Wells walked out and Grace began walking out. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and started out the door.

* * *

Grace walked out of her Staff meeting when her phone buzzed. She looked at the display and read the message. She sighed and rushed back over to the lab.

She walked into the lab and followed them into the pipeline. “I don’t understand. You caught Mardon?”

He nodded. Her eyes went large. “How?”

“Um…just a hunch.”

She scoffed in disbelief. “I’d say.” She looked at her brother as the others walked away and after Wells scolded him. “Hey, what’s going on with you? Be honest please.”

“I’m always honest with you. I may evade, but I’m always honest.” He sighed. “Do you believe in time travel? For real, not because of Hollywood, but do you believe it could happen?”

She fell silent for a minute and thought about it. “Yeah. I do. Why?”

“Because I’m reliving today.”

She nodded. “Okay. What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’ve already had today….” he began telling her everything.

When he finished she said, “So, wait…in the other today, Mardon took Joe so that Joe could watch him kill us with a giant tidal wave?”

He nodded. “And when the wave was coming, Iris finally told me that she had the same feelings for me.”

“Oh, wow…”

“Yeah.”

She looked up at her brother. “Um….I should go. Carter needed my help with something.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Go ahead.”

She walked out of the lab. She started walking to Carter’s house. She kept thinking about Carter and what Joe had told her. She got to Carter’s block when she figured out what to do. This time she would do it. This time she would kiss him. She hurried toward the entrance to the building when Carter started walking out.

 _DO IT!_ The voice in her head seemed to scream and she walked to his house. “Carter.”

He turned and she walked toward him, the voice in her head encouraging what she was about to do. She rushed to him and almost instantly captured his lips with her own. Unlike any other kiss she’s ever had, this one was full of burn, a firestorm of passion. Keeping a grip on his laptop bag, he crushed her body to his and deepened the kiss. He pushed his tongue past her lips and she moaned, giving him even more access.

Her body felt hot, needy. She never felt this much passion from one man it came to her. This passion was different than what she had felt with Cisco. With Cisco, he always seemed so tentative about just taking what he wanted, with Carter it was like he _knew_ ….

He couldn’t believe that this was happening. After almost 11 years and he was finally getting what he had fantasized about it and it was way better than his fantasizes. He groaned in appreciation as he explored the dark recesses of her mouth. Her curves felt amazing against his hands, her body felt incredible pressed into his.

She tilted her head to get another angle and it seemed to change the intensity of the kiss and she pulled him to her more and dove in further. Hell, if she was going to do this, then she was going to go for it. Her body was already hot and greedy. And she wanted more of him.

Unbeknownst to the couple, across the street, someone was watching and recording it.

She backed away slowly, lingering over the kiss. “Wow…that was….”

“Yeah,” he murmured. “It was.” He sighed. “Definitely better than I had dreamed about.”

She smiled. “Okay, um…I don’t know how to say this.”

He chuckled. “Just say it.”

“Have a drink with me tonight? Actually come out with me and have a drink tonight?”

He nodded. “As in a date?”

She shook her head.The guilt churning in her brain. She enjoyed the kiss, but she still felt like she shouldn’t have…or what was this feeling? “Kinda…No…” she looked up at him. “I don’t know…maybe?”

He smirked. She was still going through a break up. Her emotions were all turned about. He nodded. “How about we just forget about the kiss for tonight and just go have a drink? We haven’t done that since were old enough to drink. So, we’ll just go out as Carter and Grace. No annotations to that. Just two friends getting a drink. That’s it.”

She nodded. “That sounds good.” And it did. It took the pressure off of trying to diagnosis whatever they were to each other now. She looked up into his eyes and knew that’s not what he wanted, but that he was doing it for her.

* * *

Grace laughed at what one of the male reporters were telling her when her phone began ringing. She smiled at him. “Sorry, Jonathan. Gotta take this. It’s my dad.” She answered, “Hey, dad. How’s it going?”

“Good. I’m calling to ask you if you knew that your brother caught Mardon.”

“I did,” she said. “He didn’t tell you?” She walked into her office and closed the door.

“Nope. Do you know what’s going on with him?”

“I do, but I don’t know if you’d believe me.”

“Try me.”

She exhaled. “Barry time traveled.”

“He did what?”

She heard the beep to tell her of another call and looked at the display. “Dad, I gotta go. It’s Cisco on the other end. I mentioned for him to call me if he needed to vent about his brother.”

“You guys that cool?”

She exhaled. “I don’t know right now. All I know is that I would at least like to try and be friends. So, we’re trying.” She said goodbye to Joe and answered, “Hey, Cisco.”

“Hey, can you talk?”

“For a few minutes, yeah. How’d it go?”

That seemed to open the dam because he started going off on her and just like a friend she listened. “Okay, Cisco, do me a favor, okay?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Take a breath. It’ll be better for both of us.” She smiled as he did as she asked. “Thank you. So from what I got is that your parents are being your parents and your brother is being a monstrous dick?”

He chuckled. “Exactly. What should I do?”

“Well, be honest, do you think saying anything will actually do any good?”

“Probably not.”

“Then you know what? There really isn’t anything you can do, Cisco. Your family is your family and you can’t change that. But you can change how you react to them.”

“How?” he asked.

She smiled. “Funny you should ask.” She began explaining what he could do to change his reactions.

* * *

Grace straightened her leather jacket and walked into the dance bar that Carter had texted her the address to. She fluffed up her hair and looked around for him. She smiled when she found him talking to a waitress. She approached the table. “Hi.”

He smiled and stood, kissing her cheek. “Hi. I ordered you a glass of Merlot.”

She smiled. “Thank you.” She put her purse beside her on the table and sat. She looked around the bar. It looked old. Like something she had heard her parents talk about that they used to go to. “What is this place? How’d you find it?”

“Dad,” he answered. “He took mom here on their first date. All I did was ask for someplace where it was going to be cool for us to dance, but didn’t play a lot of modern stuff and he told me about this place.” He sipped his beer. “He takes her here every year on the anniversary of that date.”

She smiled. She sipped her wine. “That’s the kind of thing I want to be remembered. We’d never have to do anything extravagant on our dates. Something like this I would find amazing and the best moment of the night.”

He nodded. “Dad has said it’s the simple things that has kept the romance alive in their marriage. They’ve been married for twenty-eight years and you’d think they were newlyweds.”

She nodded, smiling. “I know. I’ve watched them.”

Michael Buble’s rendition of Some Kind of Wonderful began playing and Carter smiled. “Dance with me?”

“I would love to,” she said. She slid out of the seat and took his hand.

They walked out onto the dance floor and began keeping up with the upbeat love song. He swung her out and brought her back and she laughed. He took back into his arms and they began dancing again. As they danced, he sang the words to her.

He spun her and continued dancing. Grace looked into his blue eyes as they danced. It felt amazing to be here in this moment. To be in his arms and not carrying about anything else that happened in the world right now. She wasn’t carrying about whatever Cisco was doing. Whatever meta-villain was out there or even the Man in the Yellow Suit. She was present in this moment and it felt good.

At the end of the song, he dunked her and she gasped and looked up into his eyes. Her heart skittered in her chest like a rock on water. She knew in this moment right here, that she’d be able to tell her children was the moment she fell--literally--head over heels in love with him.

He put her back on her feet and they started dancing to an old 60s song next. The rest of the night went like that. Just dancing and sipping their wine. No talk of relationships or whatever the kiss meant. Even though Grace had a feeling they both knew what tonight was for them…the 1st date. She knew that there was no way of denying this…not that she’d want to.

This was a date…a dream first date.

She didn’t feel pressured. He knew most of everything about her. There really wasn’t anything she **_**had**_** to tell him about herself because he knew it already. He even knew the ugly parts of her…the ones that made the others weird out. He seemed to embrace those and loved her even more for them.

Now, he was paying for their drinks and she was waiting at the door for him. He finished paying and met up with her. He put his fingers against the small of her back and ushered her out the door. They walked next to each other for a block and as they walked she fought the urge to reach for his hand.

Finally, after a block and a half from the club, she decided to stop fighting it and reached for his hand. She threaded their fingers and her stomach flipped in that exciting fluttery way when he held her hand tightly, but affectionately. She sighed and put her head on his shoulder as they walked.

They chatted softly as they walked to their street. He walked her up the porch and smiled at her. She turned to him and smiled up at him. “Thank you for tonight,” she said with a soft smile. “I loved it.”

“Me too.” He pushed a strand of hair out of her face and heard her breath hitch. Trying to respect that she’s going through a break up, he kissed her forehead. “Good night, Beautiful.”

She smiled. “Good night.” She watched him start to walk down the stairs, when she stopped him. “Carter.”

He turned and she walked up to him. She leaned down and softly pressed her lips to his. She pulled back and blinked at him. He adoringly tucked his hand behind her neck and pulled her mouth back to his. Her heart stuttered in her chest at the feel of his lips taking the lead.

She moaned and he carefully pushed his tongue inside. Their tongues tangled, dancing inside each other’s mouths. This was what a kiss was supposed to feel like. It was supposed to make your heart flip in your chest, your stomach swirl and it was most definitely supposed to make you breathless. She gently pulled back, lingering over his mouth. “Good night,” she whispered.

He smiled, his chest heaving a little. “Good night, Sweetheart.”

She turned to walk back to the door. She stopped with her hand on the door and turned. “Carter.”

“Yes?” he said as he almost danced down the steps.

“I don’t want to pretend that it didn’t happen…not with you,” she said softly.

He smiled. “Neither did I.”

She turned the handle and walked inside. She shut it behind her and sighed against the door. She was still floating, she could feel it. Joe looked up from the television and smiled. “So how was dancing with Carter?”

She exhaled, content. “ ** _ **Amazing!**_** Like… _beyond_ amazing. It was the best first date I’ve ever had.”

“But I thought you said it wasn’t a date.”

She walked to the couch and sat down next to Joe. “Well…it kinda was…”

He chuckled and kissed her hair. “It’s okay, Gracie. Barry told me that Cisco got hit on at the bar and more than likely hit it off with her.”

She nodded. She stopped and realized that her heart didn’t hurt, not really. “Good for him.” She sighed. “I just don’t want to move too fast with him, you know?”

He nodded. “However, I think eighteen years is slow enough, don’t you?”

She laughed and playfully pushed him. “Dad!” She stood. “I’m going to bed. Good night.”

“Good night.”

* * *

Grace walked into Jitters to see her brother standing in line waiting for his turn. She walked up to him real quick and tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey.”

He turned and looked her up and down. She looked amazing…she was glowing. She was wearing a pair of jeans, knee-high black boots and a crew neck green tunic sweater and her dark was down in her natural waves. “You look great.”

“Thank you,” she said, about jumping out of her skin she was so excited.

He smiled. “This excitement wouldn’t have anything to do with a particular dark haired guy that grew up next door to would it.”

She nodded, biting her bottom. “Yeah. It was so weird…well, not weird weird. I mean I went into the night saying it wasn’t a date, but then I realized while we were dancing that last night was the perfect first date and I wanted it to be it, you know?”

He nodded. “I do.” He smiled. “So, you gonna go out again?”

She shrugged. “Depends on his traveling scheduled. He mentioned yesterday that he might have to go back to Europe again.”

Barry nodded. “Sounds good.”

She smirked. “You’re next, Big Brother.”

“Thanks.”

“So, how are things between you and Linda?”

“They aren’t,” he said. “We broke up.”

She turned him around. “Why?!” she asked keeping her voice down.

“Because Iris and I kissed--”

“Barry that was in the other Today. That’s not **_**today**_** Today. Today you’re still her childhood best friend whom is starting to weird out even Eddie.”

“What are you talking about?”

She exhaled. “Look, Barry, I don’t want you to get hurt, but you do realize that Iris isn’t going to remember ever kissing you, right?” She shook her head. “She’s not. You’re the one that’s going to remember this amazing kiss and she’s still going to be with Eddie.”

He shook his head. “No--”

“Yes.” She exhaled softly. “Look, I love you. You’re my big brother, but you’re an idiot if you think by just you talking about it will do anything but make her feel weird and awkward.” Without getting her coffee, she walked out.

* * *

Grace started heading toward CCPN and took out her phone. She texted Carter:

****[To Carter/7:45am]: You owe me a coffee and banana nut muffin.** **

Seconds later, her hand vibrated. ****[From Carter/7:47am]: Why?****

She smirked. ****[To Carter/7:48AM]: Because you do.****

Her phone vibrated with a call and she quickly shot him a text that told him where to bring it. She answered, “Hey, Dad.”

“Leonard Snart was just seen at the Santini Crime Family Casino.”

“Oh, holy shit,” Grace muttered. “Really?”

“Yeah. If that’s true we could be looking at an all out crime family war.”

She nodded and said, “Okay. I’ll be right there.” She hung up the phone and quickly flew to the Lab, changed and went back out again.

******************

She gets to the casino and tells Barry. I got cold. You get Heatwave or whoever he’s got with him this time.” She sighed. “We don’t need to you getting hurt like before.”

He nodded. They get in there, and Barry makes himself known, while Grace stands back. “We both know you won’t do anything to her. Oh, by the way, meet my baby sister. Lisa, Flash. Flash, Lisa.” He smirked. “If I remember correctly you have one of those, right?”

Grace stepped out of the shadow and she sauntered toward Leonard. “So, where’s your Pyro Friend, Lenny?”

“Keeping an eye on someone very near and dear to you…one can hope.”

She kept her hard face as she said, “Who’s that?”

“Cisco has been very, very busy. Unless you want me to mail small, frozen pieces of him back to his family, I'd take your hands off her.”

“Why you, Sonofa--”

“Tsk-tsk-tsk, Gaia.”

“Let him go, Snart.”

“I'll think about it.”

She glared at him as he started walking away. “Hey, Snart.”

He turned and said coldly, “Yes?”

She sauntered up to him, made her hand feel like rock, and punched him hard in the face. He fell to the floor. “If even one hair…is out of place…on him I will freeze your cold dead heart until it shatters like glass.” She straightened and looked at Lisa. “You may want to help him up. I think his pride is a little bruised.”

* * *

Grace paced, back and forth…back and forth. She started wringing her hands nervously. Barry looked up and watched her. She looked worried. Not girlfriend worried, but it was the worriment of a friend. He was impressed even if she didn’t realize it, she had moved on. And Cisco was friend-zoned.

Wells stopped the video. “So there's Cisco getting into a car with Snart's sister. And the license plate is iced over.”

Barry slammed the ice pack down on the table beside him. He had gotten punched by Eddie at the casino for what he said to Iris. “All right, Dr. Wells, you were right. I... I... I screwed with time and now time is screwing with me. Cold is back, he kidnapped Cisco, and Iris is…”

“Stop right there before you cause another disruption to the timeline.”

Grace sighed. “Barry, we talked about this.”

He nodded. “I know.” He looked at Wells. “Please, Dr. Wells. Please, I have to talk to someone.”

Wells stopped. “Go ahead.”

“In the previous version of today, Captain Singh is seriously injured, Joe is in danger, and Iris said she had feelings for me.”

“And now Cisco's life is on the line, and Iris has no idea she confessed those feelings.”

“But she still has them, right?”

“She might.”

Wells nodded. “Your sister’s right. The unconscious mind, Barry, it... it's a powerful thing. It sounds like it took this apparent disaster to jar those feelings loose and without a disaster, those feelings remain deeper down. Unaccessed.”

“I don't understand. I thought that I was helping people by stopping Mardon.”

“We did,” Grace said. “I know we did.”

“Yes, but this new ability of yours, Barry, is dangerous. You only traveled back in time one day. What if you traveled back decades? Centuries? Imagine the havoc you could wreak.”

“But I will have the opportunity to travel back in time in the near future and save my mom. Or...you're saying I shouldn't?”

“I'm saying how many more people could die if your mother lives?”

“Did you guys find Cisco?” Caitlin asked, worriedly.

* * *

After a heart to heart and a failed attempt to escape, the Ramon brothers are battered and bruised. “I like you, kid. You're smart. You pulled yourself up from humble beginnings. You seem like a good brother.”

“You too.”

“Debatable. You answer one question for me, I'll let you and your brother walk.”

“What's the question?”

“The Flash and his beautiful sister, Gaia. Who are they?

“How would I know. They wear masks.”

Snart scoffed. “Really? Hmm…you’re going that way.” He pulled his phone out and pulled up the video his sister had gotten earlier. “Question, isn’t that your beautiful girlfriend, Grace?”

Cisco looked on the screen and saw Grace in a very intense lip lock with Carter. A more intense kiss then he’s ever experienced with her that was for sure. There was a tiny pang in his heart, but nothing drastic. Not really.

They were officially moving on.

Cold smirked at him. “Who is that she is swallowing tongues with?”

Cisco looked up at him. “By the looks of it I’d say her would-be new boyfriend.” He smirked back. “Nice try with the emotional tactic there. Gotta give ya credit, but we broke up almost two months ago. She can kiss whomever she wants now.”

Cold studied him. “Hmm…I’m going to ask again,” he kept the video in his view. “Who are Flash and Gaia?”

He glanced at the video and then back up at Snart. “I swear...they always masks.”

To prove a point, Snart fired his gun at Dante’s hands, giving them first degree frostbite. “This is first degree frost bite. Your brother could recover with proper treatment. If not, all his tendons, blood vessels, and nerves will freeze. His fingers will need to be amputated. No more concertos for the Ramon family holidays. Now tell me, who is The Flash?”

* * *

Like before, Grace was pacing, while Barry and Carter stood around shooting off theories of where Cisco could be. Dr. Wells and Caitlin were checking satellites and everything. “There's nothing the satellite thermography. You were right. This is all my fault.”

“How is this your fault?” Caitlin asked.

“Brave heart, Barry. We'll get Cisco back.”

“I'm back.”

“Oh, thank God….”

Caitlin rushed to him. “Oh, my God. Are you okay? We were so worried.”

Grace hugged him, but it wasn’t his usual hug.

“What happened?”

“How did you escape?”

“I didn't.”

“What….? Then how did you….?”

“Snart just let you go? Why?”

“He, um... he tortured my brother. And he said he was gonna kill him if I didn't... if I didn't tell him…”

“Tell him what?”

“Who The Flash and Gaia really are.”

Grace’s eyes widened in shock, she sighed heavily.

“I, honestly, man, they... they could've killed me. But they were gonna kill my brother. I couldn't let him do that.”

Barry and Grace exchanged a look, one only siblings understood between each other and then Barry came to him. “Hey.”

“I'm sorry, Barry.”

“No.”

“I'm so sorry.”

“I put you in that position. I'm the one who's sorry.”

Cisco pulled back from the hug and started walking into his lab room. “Where’re you going?”

“I don't deserve to be here. I won't be the one to put you in jeopardy. Not again. Never again.”

Grace sighed. “I’ll go talk to him.”

Barry nodded. Grace ran after him, finally catching up to him where he had started packing up his stuff. “Hey, What are you doing?”

“I told you,” he said as he continued packing.

“I know what you said, but why?” She walked to him as he spun.

“I told Snart who you are, Grace! I put your life in danger.”

“Okay, Cisco, that’s not fair,” she said. “You can’t put that on yourself.”

He turned to face her again. “Then who does it go on, Grace, huh?”

“He put you in an impossible situation,” she said and he turned back to his tool box. She walked to the other side of the toolbox and looked him in the eyes. “Cisco, come on. Please, don’t go.” She put a hand over his. “I don’t hold you responsible for that. So what Snart knows?” She smirked at her friend. “Who’s ever gonna believe him?”

He laughed. She had a point there.

She smiled. “Don’t go. We love you, Cisco.”

“We? Does that include you?”

“Yes,” she said. “We may not be together anymore, but I love you. You’re one of my nearest and dearest friends.” She smiled softly. “I don’t want that to change because we couldn’t make our romantic relationship work. Besides, we’re both moving on.”

He smiled. She was right…again. “Yeah, you’re right.” He smiled. “I gotta say that kiss Carter gave you was--”

“What kiss?” she asked a little shocked that he knew.

“Lisa taped you outside of Carter’s loft kissing.” His smile widened. “Gotta say the only time I’ve ever seen a kiss like that in books or movies.”

She laughed and kissed his cheek. “And you have a thing for brunettes, Mr. Ramon.” She hugged him. “I’m glad we’re getting to a place where we can talk again.”

He smiled. “Me too.”

“Miss Allen, may I speak with Cisco for a moment?”

She smiled. “Of course, Doctor.” She squeezed Cisco’s fingers and then walked off. “I’m going to go talk to Caitlin and Barry about where to find the Rogue Crew.”

Cisco laughed. “I like that one.”

She smiled. “Well, feel free to use it, Cisco.”

* * *

“Hey, guys, I was thinking,” Grace said as she walked into the Cortex. She slowed when Caitlin was staring. “What?”

“Something seems different about you,” Caitlin said.

“Um…besides that I got off my emotional rollercoaster.” she shrugged. “Not sure what.”

Barry laughed. “So, what was your idea, Kiddo?”

“Well, it was something that Carter was talking to me about. We were talking about when I go with him to finish his summer tour of the world.” She smiled. “Anyway, he brought up the casinos in Monacco, Markovia and Corto Maltese.” She cleared her throat. “We got onto one of our side roads that we go on and he said that if the Casino is compromised that they relocate the money.” She looked at her brother. “Maybe that’s how we could find the Rogues? Track the armored truck transferring the money?”

Caitlin smiled. She looked up at Barry.”That is a good idea.”

He nodded. “Do it.”

Caitlin waved a finger at Grace’s ensemble. “New outfit?”

“Um…” she looked down. “Um…new boots…?”

“From where?”

“France. They’re a gift.” She shrugged.

Caitlin looked at her. “You look.”

“Me?”

She nodded. “You need to start doing stuff too.”

She smiled. “Thanks.” Her fingers sailed across the keys. Minutes later she said, “Found it.” She looked at Caitlin. “Call Dr. Wells and Cisco back up here.”

Caitlin called Dr. Wells and Cisco to the Cortex. When they got up there, Caitlin said, “The casino wasn't the target.”

“Then why did he do it?”

“Casinos keep tons of cash on hand to cover their markers, not to mention the money that they make.”

“But if they're under attack, the protocol is to relocate the money outside the casino,” Barry told them.

“So, that was Snart's plan all along. To trigger the move,” Wells said.

Grace nodded. “Right.”

“Okay, where is it now?” Cisco asked.

“Grace found them.”

Grace looked at the screen. “Heading out of the City.” She looked up at Barry. “Gotta admit. It’s smart.”

He laughed. “Get suited up, Small Fry.”

* * *

Grace and Barry stopped the Snarts and Mick before they could take the money, but Barry ended up letting Leonard go and telling Grace to do the same for Lisa and Mick. When they got back to the Lab, she grabbed Barry’s arm and pulled him into a room that had a door. “Why did we let them go, huh? What is wrong with you that that sounded like a good idea?”

“Grace--”

"So, are we letting them go? Is that what we're doing now, Barry?"

"Grace, it was either arrest them all or have the entire world know who we are."

"There's other ways, Barry. I had Lisa and Mick. We could have locked them in the pipeline."

“Its bad enough we're keeping meta humans locked in there without due process but if we keep the Snarts and Mick in there we'd be no better than the bad guys.”

She exhaled very deeply. “I hate when you’re right.”

He laughed and hugged her. Outside, Caitlin, Cisco and Wells watched. “Seriously do they ever really fight?”

Caitlin laughed. “I guess when you’re as close as them, you don’t need to scream at each other at the top of your lungs.”

* * *

Barry and Grace walked into Jitters and as they got closer to the group, Eddie approached them. “I am so sorry, pal. It's not like me to hit anyone. I don't know what came over me.”

“Uh... thanks, Eddie. It's... it's okay.”

“You poor thing. I had no idea.”

“Is that right?”

Grace was totally dumbfounded. “What?”

“Um... what exactly did you have no idea about?”

Caitlin approached. “I was just explaining to Iris and Eddie about your Lightning Psychosis.”

“My what now?”

“Your Lightning Psychosis.”

“Lightning Psychosis?” What? There was no such thing. And she should know. She had a degree in psychology.

“How your recent odd behavior is a side effect of being struck by lightning. Mood swings, sudden outbursts of affection, and other lapses in judgment.”

“He has had all of those things. He told me that he had ESP.”

“Yeah, it's a very uncommon neurological phenomenon. We're really only just now starting to research in kerauno-medicine. That's why Barry's been spending so much time at S.T.A.R. Labs.”

“I just... I wish you would've told me,” Iris told him.

“I didn't... it hardly feels real sometimes.”

Grace was too stunned to move as everyone went to sit. She felt an arm go around her shoulders and then a deep voice ask, “What happened?”

She tried to suppress the shiver, but she had a feeling she was failing miserably. She turned to face him. Those beautiful blue eyes looked down at her. “Save me.”

He laughed softly. “What’s the matter?”

She sighed. “I’ll tell you later. It’s actually a very interesting story.”

He laughed and put his hands on her shoulders. “And I can’t wait to hear it, but first I need chocolate.”

She smiled. “Absolutely. Then we gotta go see dad.”

“We? Or you and I’m tagging along?” he asked as he motioned to the barista. “Two of your triple chocolate hot cocoa.”

She nodded. “Yes, Dr. Stephens.”

Grace snickered. “Does it ever get old?”

He shook his head. “Old, no. Annoying, sometimes.” He tilted his mouth to her ear. “So does anyone know we’ve kissed…twice?”

She nodded. “Two people,” she whispered. “Dad…and Cisco. Well…Cisco only knows of the one outside of your apartment building.”

“What?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Apparently the Rogues tried to manipulate him into doing what they wanted by showing him a video recording of us kissing.”

“Huh. Good to know.”

* * *

As they walked out of Jitters Grace’s phone buzzed. She pulled it out and looked at it. “Oh. We’re now meeting at Barry’s Lab.”

He nodded. “Come on. I drove my car.”

“Oh, thank goodness.”

They got to the Lab about 5 minutes later. They walked in and Grace shook the rain from her hair. “What’s up? What are we doing here so late?”

Joe looked at the two of them. “Is this going to be a thing again?”

“Would it be so bad if it was?”

He shook his head. “No. I just wish it would become an actual real thing.” He looked at Carter. “And you know I don’t say that often about any boy who’s dating my daughters.”

Grace smiled. “It just might.”

“I think that maybe you two were right, about Dr. Wells.”

“Ooh, this is going to be interesting.”

“Which part?”

“All of it.”

“What about Dr. Wells?”

Grace exhaled. “You remember when I told you that we found new evidence about my mom’s murder?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well, and this might sound crazy, but uh, we’ve found proof that Barry went into the past to stop the Reverse-Flash from killing mom.”

“How?”

“His blood was on the wall,” she explained. “They fought that night.”

The explanation continued and Carter knew then and there what he wanted to do. “I want to help.”

Joe smiled. “Figured you would once you knew the whole thing. But we gotta do it discreetly, because if people are disappearing who are getting too close to discovering the truth then we could be next.”

They all nodded. They started coming up with a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note: Please remember, just because they've both have moved on and Grace and Carter are SORT OF seeing each other, she HERSELF is not ready. She's on a mission of self-discovery and she will find it.


	24. Tricksters

**_-15 Years Ago…_ **

_Henry Allen smiled down at his little girl. “Come on, Peanut, get comfy.”_

_She slid down so that her head was nestled in the pillows on her bed nicely. She smiled up at her father. “Good night, daddy.”_

_He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Good night, my Little Peanut.”_

_She smiled and hugged him. “I love you, daddy.”_

_He smiled and tucked her in. “I love you to the moon and stars.” He stepped back and let his wife in to give their only daughter hugs and kisses._

_She hugged her first and then kissed her cheek. “Good night, Sweetheart. Mommy loves you.”_

_She smiled. “I love you too, mommy.”_

_Her parents walked to the door and Henry flipped the light. “Good night, Peanut. See you in the morning.”_

_“Good night, Daddy.”_

_He closed the door and they walked down the hall to her brother’s room. She may not see them actually do it, but it was routine now. It’s how they always did it._

_A little while later, Grace was pulled out of her sleep by the commotion going on downstairs. She heard the small click of her lock turning and got out of bed. She tried the doorknob but it wouldn’t turn. “Mommy? Daddy?” She hit her hand on the door. “DAD! Hey! My door’s locked!”_

_No answer or action._

_“MOM!”_

**\--PRESENT DAY--**

Grace jerked awake, tears in her eyes, when she heard her phone buzzing. She hardly ever dreamed about that night 15 years ago, but when she did it usually brought her right back emotionally. And usually she had a really good cry in the bathroom.

She looked around and realized she was at Carter’s house. She’d been passing out there a lot because of them getting out projects one after another. She looked in the chair next to her and seen him conked out cold. She smiled. He looked so peaceful and handsome sleeping like that. She swiped up her phone and seen that it was a call from her brother. She answered, “Hey, Barry, we’re on my way.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, overslept,” she admitted.

“Okay, see you in a few. Love you.”

“Love you.” She hung up the phone.

“Who was that?” Carter asked groggily.

“Barry. Remember, we promised we’d meet him at his lab with dad.”

“Oh, shit,” he muttered. “We did.”

She smiled and walked over to him. She kissed his lips softly. That was another thing that had become easy, enjoyable and down right fun. Kissing Carter. They didn’t have makeout sessions, but they kissed good morning and they kissed goodbye…most of the time, unless they were around Joe, Barry and Iris. They had promised each other that they would take things slow. Until she felt ready with her self-discovery, so Carter let her decide the level of their relationship. “Don’t worry about it, Big Guy,” she tapped his chest, “I bought us at least fifteen minutes.”

He smiled. “I could really get used to waking up like that.”

She laughed softly and kissed him again. “Let’s hope you do.”

He stretched and then said, “Thanks for your help with the coding for the website.”

She nodded and smiled. “You’re very welcome.”

Carter looked at her and his heart thumped hard in his chest. God, how he loved her.

“Stop staring at me,” she said.

“Sorry, can’t help it.” He kissed her hair. “I’m going go and try to make myself presentable.”

“You won’t have to try that hard,” she called out to him.

“Same goes, Allen.”

* * *

About 30 minutes later, Carter and Grace walked into Barry’s lab. Carter was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a black sweater. He was carrying a cup carrier full of coffees. While Grace walked in wearing blue jeans, a blocked striped tunic sweater, a pair of cuffed knee-high high-heeled boots. Her dark hair was French braided down her back. “Hey, sorry we’re late. We overslept then got four coffees,” Grace said as a way of a greeting.

“We?” Barry asked, smiling, taking the cup.

Grace rolled her eyes. Carter laughed. “Not going there right now.”

“All right, this is everything that we know about Harrison Wells, which is actually not a lot.” He pulled down a shade.

“Didn't you read a whole book about him?” Joe asked.

“Yeah, six-hundred pages, and the big takeaway is, he's enigmatic.”

“I read it too,” Carter admitted. He shook his head. “Not worth the money I paid for it, trust me.”

“Your mom was killed by a speedster. Wells' machine turned you into a speedster. That's way too many coincidences for this old cop.”

“That would be true if it hadn’t done what it did to Grace,” Carter told them.

“True,” Barry said.

“Unless in some weird strange way, I’m a part of his plan too.”

“Do you think that he wanted me to become The Flash?”

“Everything he's done since that night you got struck by lightning... bringing you to S.T.A.R. Labs, giving you the suit, training you... it's all been to keep you safe.”

“And to make me faster. Wells once said that he needed more speed from me. Why?”

“I don't know. But he wants something from you, Barry. We just need to figure out what it is,” Joe said.

“Well, let's go get him then. Let's get some answers. We can't do that now as much as we might want to. Joe, you had your suspicions about Wells from the very beginning. You thought that he might be the Man in Yellow.”

“Except the blood from your house didn't match him.”

“All right, so maybe he's not the Reverse-Flash,” Barry thought.

“What if he’s working with the Reverse-Flash?” Carter asked.

“What do you mean?” they asked in unison.

“Well, maybe I’ve watched too many superhero TV shows and stuff. but what if Wells is like his partner or something?”

“That makes sense,” Grace said. “And it’s very plausible.”

Joe nodded. “Good one, Carter.”

Barry smiled, appreciatively. “You think that he knows what happened that night? He may have the key to getting our dad out of prison.”

“Whatever Wells wants from you, it started fifteen years ago. He's been patient. Scary patient. You gotta listen to me on this. We have to be just as patient.”

“Patience isn’t one of my strong suits, guys,” Grace said.

“No? Really?” Carter teased. “I had no idea.”

She playfully slapped him in the chest. “Shut up.”

Barry smiled. “You two are adorable. I almost forgot how cute.”

She smiled. “Thanks--”

An explosion caught their attention and they all walked to the window. They saw a black plume not far from them. Barry looked at Grace and she nodded. They changed quickly and both sped out of the building, not to be seen.

They got to the park where people were scattering. One little boy was about to touch the bomb, but Flash saved him. Gaia took a deep breath and began sucking in the bomb smoke. She then flew off toward the bay and dove in, and let the smoke out. She stayed in the water for a few minutes and then came up.

She flew to S.T.A.R. Labs and began coughing. Carter rushed to her. “Gracie, are you okay?”

She looked at Cisco. “Water….” she said hoarsely.

He quickly got up and grabbed a bottled water for her. She twisted the top and guzzled the water.She winced as she sighed. “I forgot….how much….that burns,” she breathed out.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’m fine.”

Carter looked into her face. “Hold still,” he said and she did. He looked into her face then scanned with his eyes from the top of her head to her shoulders. “They’re not burnt to a crisp, but you did singe them a little.”

“Do you have x-ray vision?” Cisco asked.

He nodded. “Sort of. I’ll explain later.”

They watched the weird guy in the black mask as he spoke, “ _Tricked ya. Look who's back. My tricks. My treat. But I'll give you something good to eat. Today's special. A city in ashes. The Trickster proudly welcomes you all to the new disorder_.”

“Talking in the third person. That's never a good sign,” Cisco muttered sarcastically.

Carter and Grace laughed. “You're just mad because he named himself,” Caitlin teased.

“Actually, he didn't. Twenty years ago, Central City was hit by a series of terrorist attacks. One man killed at least ten civilians, two cops. That guy called himself The Trickster.”

“Whoa. Someone was rocking the unitard.”

“James Jesse?” Caitlin asked.

“Like Jesse James, only more twisted.”

“Where is this Mr. Jesse now?”

“He's serving several life sentences at Iron Heights. He was just about the most dangerous thing Central City had ever seen.”

“You mean until the Particle Accelerator blew up.”

“Um…”

“Barry and I will go see this James Jesse at Iron Heights, see if he can give us something that can help us catch his groupie,” Joe said quickly.

“I'll analyze the video and see if I can figure out the source,” Cisco volunteered.

Joe and Barry both walked out. “Hey, Joe. Is Barry doing all right? He seems cranky.”

“Even The Flash wakes up on the wrong side of the bed some mornings. He's fine.”

Wells looked at Grace and she smiled. “He’s fine, Doc. If he wasn’t he’d have told me.”

“Dad.”

“Yeah, Baby?”

“Forensic Psychology speaking here. Bombers, have signature, which I know Barry knows. But most of them don’t verbalize that signature. They don’t tell anyone their formula to building the bomb. Especially murderous ones. The fan would have to show a certain level of loyalty to the bomber before they’ll spill their guts.” She turned to face him fully. “The bomber gets off on the admiration. It’s like crack to them. If you mention to him that this guy is following his example, his MO one of two things could happen.”

“Which are?”

“One, he gets angry because this guy got his secrets and two, he likes the thought of the admiration and will lie to you so that you’ll keep coming back to tell him. At that point you’re feeding his addiction.”

Caitlin blinked at her in surprise. “That’s good.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

Carter looked at his watch. “Ooh. I gotta go. Conference call with Germany.” He kissed Grace’s cheek. “See you later?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I’ll call you.”

He smiled. “Be careful. If you need me, call.”

She nodded. “Will do.”

* * *

At about noon that day, Grace found her office door opening and Iris coming in, with Audrey frantically following behind. She looked at Audrey. “Don’t worry about it, Audrey.”

Just by the expression on Iris’ face, Grace knew something was wrong. Iris looked at her. “I’m sorry.”

Grace shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. You okay?”

“I’m fine, but no one seems to believe me.”

“About what?” she asked as she stood, walking to the door to close it.

“Mason Bridge is missing. He’s been missing for a week.”

The blue-eyed girl sighed. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that too.”

Iris looked at her sister again. “I know you and he didn’t get--”

She raised a hand and shook her head. “Don’t. What do you want me to do?”

Iris stopped. “Really?”

She nodded. “Iris, you’re my sister and if you need my help then I’m so there. It doesn’t matter if I didn’t like someone, if you ask for my help I’m there. So what do you want me to do.”

“Help me look.”

She nodded. She opened her mouth to respond, but stopped when her cell phone vibrated. She answered, “Hey, Cisco, what’s up?”

“The Trickster just sent another vlog out.”

“Send it to my computer. I’ll look at it.” She hung up. “I will help you, Iris.”

Iris smiled. “Thanks, Grace. See you after lunch?”

She nodded. “Absolutely.” She opened the link on her laptop and watched, “Denizens of Central City, or those of you who remain, welcome to Boom Day. I'm very proud to report that my first trick was an exploding success. But I think you all deserve something much, uh, bigger. So for my next trick…”

She picked up her phone and dialed Carter. “Hey, it’s me.”

On his end he smiled. “Hey, Sweetheart. You okay?”

She nodded as she answered, “I’m fine. How does your eyes work? With your powers I mean?”

“Depends on what you need,” he told her. “Why?”

“Do you think you could scan for a bomb?”

“Yes,” he said confidently.

She eased herself onto the corner of her desk. “Really? Just like that? No hesitation at all?”

“No.” He sighed. “I’ve always told you I will do anything for you and just because we’re inching toward being a couple that won’t change. If anything it’s gotten stronger.

She smiled. “What did I do to deserve you, Carter?”

He smiled on his end. “By being the cute pig-tailed brunette that I was being forced to sit next to.”

She laughed. “And all it took was Mrs. Ramsey’s seating chart and I got a guy in my life that I am quickly discovering has always been my superhero.”

He smiled softly. “And that is someone I’ll always cherish being for you, Grace.”

Her heart leaped. It was things like that she wanted to hear. “Okay. I’ll send you the link that is connected to why I asked that question.”

“Okay. Gracie, be careful, honey.”

“I will. I gotta go to STAR Labs now.”

* * *

Grace walked into the Cortex and looked at everyone. “Hey, guys.”

“Hey,” Cisco said with a smile. “Where’s Carter?”

“Conference calls to Europe. He’s trying to see if he can do it here without having to go there.” She looked at everyone. “What did we find out?”

Cisco brought up the video.

“This was posted a few hours ago. Whoever this Trickster is, he's certainly not shy,” Wells said.

Barry looked at the man in the wheelchair. “Well, not every criminal likes to hide in the dark.”

Grace walked over to her brother and took his arm in a silent gesture to keep him quiet.

Trying to keep on the topic, Joe looked at Cisco. “Cisco, can you trace where the video was posted from?”

“I tried, but this guy is using some crazy Felicity-caliber scrambler like I've never seen. The origin of the upload's coming from hundreds of different locations. Until he uploads another video, it's gonna be tough.”

“This psychopath has the capability to destroy the city,” Barry snapped.

“Barry,” she murmured.

“Hey, I said tough, not impossible.”

“Barry, we'll catch him. We always do,” Caitlin assured him.

Wells looked at his young friend. “Mr. Allen, a word please?”

She waited for Wells and Barry to leave before she said what she needed to. “Carter said if we need him to he could use his “Matrixing” and scan for whatever we need him to scan for.”

Joe nodded. “Good to know.”

She nodded. “Yeah. I gotta go. Iris wanted to talk to me about something at work.” She walked up to Joe and kissed his cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” he called after her.

* * *

Gaia and Flash got into Jitters and she smiled. “Miss West, how are you?” she asked disguising her voice.

“I’m well, Gaia. Thank you.”

“I thought you were a full-time reporter now. Why are we meeting here?”

Iris smiled. “I still have a key. And this is kind of our place, right?”

“What's up?”

“My coworker Mason Bridge is missing. He's not at home. He's not answering his phone. I mean, it's not like him. I am really worried that something bad has happened.”

“I'm sure he's fine.”

“That's what Eddie says. That's what everyone is saying. Please, will you look into it? For me?”

“For you.”

“Thanks. Um, are you okay? You seem like you have a heavy heart.”

“Sometimes I'm not sure why I wear a mask with you.”

“Well, maybe one day you'll take it off.”

“ _Heads up. Trickster's broadcasting again_.”

“Can we borrow your laptop?”

“Um, sure. Help...help yourself.”

“ _Get ready for the games to begin! I have...a bomb. It's a big bomb. It'll make a big bang and then a big hole and then a big drop in the pop-ulation. But never say The Trickster is not fair. The bomb is somewhere between 52nd Street and Avenue B_.”

“Flash…?”

“Call him,” he told her.

She nodded. She left before Flash did and flew into the sky. She called Carter. “Hey, CJ.”

“Hey, Babe. What’s up?”

“We need you.”

They began looking for the device while Carter interjected into the frequency. He was next to Grace now. “I’m scanning for any kind of heat signatures.”

“Carter?” Barry asked into his comm.

“Yeah, Bar.” Carter stopped.

Grace cascaded down. “You okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah. This doesn’t feel right. Usually when I scan for something I can actually feel it before I see it and I’m not getting either.”

“Which means….?”

“There isn’t anything to look for, Grace. Nothing.”

She tapped her chest. “Barry, did you hear that?” No answer. “Barry!”

“Don’t Grace,” Wells told her. “He’s not even listening to me.”

“Wait. What if this wasn’t about the City, but about something else?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it. Why broadcast Citywide you have a bomb if you actually don’t?”

Grace touched back down to the ground. “For the distraction. He needs the cops and the superheroes occupied while he does something bigger.”

Carter smiled. “There’s that beautiful brain of yours.”

She smirked. “Come on, Einstein.”

Barry called Joe. “Joe, there's no bomb in this city. It was a diversion so The Trickster could help James Jesse escape.”

“I know. We just got surveillance footage from Iron Heights. Jesse got away. Grace, Barry, look, they took a hostage.”

“Well, who did he take? A guard? The warden?”

“No. Your dad.”

Grace gasped. “Daddy….” she said into her comm. “But why? There would be no reason to take daddy. No one knows his connection to us.”

“Gracie, you and Carter get back to the lab.”

* * *

Grace and Carter rushed into the lab and Grace seen Joe waiting. She rushed into his arms. “Dad.”

He wrapped his arms around her and held on. He kissed her hair. “We’ll get him back, Sweetheart. I promise.”

Barry came into the Cortex and looked at everyone. “What do we have?”

“We were able to identify the other Trickster,” Joe explained. “His name's Axel Walker, age twenty-five. Apparently him and James have been corresponding through snail mail for over a decade.”

“I should have been there.”

“We're gonna find your dad, okay?” Caitlin told him.

“Definitely.”

Barry looked at Wells. “I guess I should have listened to you.”

Grace sighed. She looked at her dad. “I’ll go talk to him.

Grace found Barry after he walked out of the comm unit in where the makeshift prison is held. She sat down next to him and then bumped his shoulder. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he said. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Are you? You seem to be beating yourself up over something that Carter and I caught onto mere seconds before they realized it.”

“How can you be so calm?”

“Because I have to be. My big brother and our adoptive father have both promised me that we’ll get him back and in my experience I’ve learned to trust their promises.” She bumped his shoulder again. “Especially yours.”

He sighed. Joe showed up and asked, “Hey, you okay?”

“Do you think our dad is still alive?” Barry asked.

“Yes. Yes, he is. Of course. Jesse only took your pop to use as leverage. He might be crazy, but he's not stupid. And everyone upstairs is looking to find him.”

Barry kept his eyes on the containment bubbles. “So now I'm supposed to just leave my dad's fate in the hands of a man who may have had something to do with my mom's murder.”

“That’s not what we’re saying, Barry,” Grace said. “If anything you’re leaving daddy’s fate in the hands of your two best friends.”

“What?”

“That’s how I’m able to keep my cool. I’m not putting daddy’s life in Wells’ hands, I’m putting it in Cisco and Caitlin’s.”

He nodded. “Joe, I can't do this,” he said, his voice breaking.

“Oh, Barry, you can. I believe in you.”

“Listen to your sister. You can.”

“It just doesn't make any sense. I mean, if Wells is a murderer, then why does he want to help me? Why has he helped me stop so many criminals? Or saved Ronnie? Why didn't I see this?”

“I spent one-tenth as much time with him as you did, and he almost had me believing in him.”

“Almost.”

“Look, whatever else he is, he is Harrison Wells. You love science. He is science. It's like you made best friends with Einstein.”

“You're saying I wanted to be tricked.”

“No, no, no,” Grace said moving in front of Barry. “Look at me.”

He looked down at the floor. She exhaled. “Barry, look at me.”

He looked into her matching blue eyes. She smiled. “I love you. You’ve been my superhero long before you actually became one. You’re my big brother. Do you know there is one thing I’ve learned from you that I’ve used to this day.”

“What?”

“Your ability to want to see the good in people. The best in people. You weren’t tricked, Barry. You did what you’ve always done, you saw the best in Harrison Wells, until his flaws became too great and you couldn’t see anything else.”

Joe smiled. “Your sister’s right, Barry. I've been a cop for 25 years. All I can see is the flaws, the lies, the dark thoughts that people think I don't see. I wish I could be you. As fast as you are, that is your real power. Don't let Wells take that from you. I don't know why he's helping us. All that matters is that he is.”

“I can't lose my dad, Joe,” he said and bent his head down.

Grace took a hitching breath and wrapped her arms around him, whispering to him. “We won’t lose him, Barry. We won’t.”

“Barr. Barr, come on. Come on. Come on.” Joe pulled him up. They were all hugging when, “ _Grace_?”

“Yes, Cisco?”

“ _A delivery guy just dropped off a killer dress_ ,” Caitlin told her over the comm.

“Oh, God….I almost forgot.” She looked at her watch. “What time is it?”

“Um…six-thirty.”

She sighed. She looked at Barry who was a little confused. “I promised Carter I’d be his date to the Mayor even tonight.”

Joe smiled. “Good for you.”

She kissed his head. “Only taking your advice, dad. Living in the moments, but taking them one step at a time.”

“I think you and Carter would be amazing together once you finally went for it. Just like with Barry and Iris. I have nothing against Cisco. He’s a great guy and an amazingly smart scientist. And a friend, but….”

“Carter’s always been different,” Barry added. “Always will be. Cisco was a great boyfriend and he treated you amazingly well, but Carter has always been an open book for you. You can get deep inside of him. Cisco is guarded and I think that has a lot to do with his upbringing and that’s not something you can do for him. He has to learn to open up himself.” Barry smiled. “But Carter….if you want that emotionally deep connection you’ve always talked about then Carter’s your guy.”

She laughed softly and kissed his cheek. “I love you.” She hugged Joe. “Both of you.” She walked into the Cortex and lifted the box lid. She gasped when she saw the dress. “Oh, God…”

Caitlin looked at the dress. “Isn’t this a seven hundred dollar dress?”

She shook her head. “More like a thousand,” she murmured.

“Oh, God,” Cisco said. “Who designed it? God?”

She shook her head. “Madelyn Kole,” she said softly.

“Who’s that?” Caitlin asked.

“She’s the woman who designed my mom’s wedding dress. I was about fourteen when I mentioned it…I can’t believe he remembered.”

“I can,” Joe and Barry said in unison.

Cisco smiled at them both and then looked at Grace. “I wanna see what it looks like when it’s put together.”

“Please,” Caitlin said gleefully.

Grace walked into her changing area and pulled out the letter that was tucked into the dress. She opened it and read:

_Gracie,_

_I hope I got everything. If not let me know and I’ll be sure to pick it up._

_XOXO, Carter_

She smiled and bit her bottom lip. God he was amazing. She pulled the dress out of the bag with the shoes and headed for the bathroom.

About an hour later, Grace walked down the corridor and stood for them to see, then spun. Barry smiled. Caitlin sighed. She was wearing a royal blue one-shoulder mermaid style dress. A pair of diamonds hung in her ears, soft makeup with a bold red lip. Her dark hair was pulled up into a low side bun, with a few strands out of it. “Oh, God, Grace, you look amazing!” Caitlin gushed.

She smiled. “Thanks.” She looked at the men. “Well?”

Cisco smiled and kissed her cheek. “Beautiful. You were made to dress up like this, Grace.”

She smiled and squeezed his hand. “Thanks, Cisco.” She looked at Barry and Joe. “Barry? Dad?”

Joe stepped forward and kissed her on the forehead. “You look absolutely beautiful. He’s going to be stunned.”

“And if not tell him to come see me,” Cisco told her, smiling.

Barry took a deep breath. “You look like mom, Gracie.”

She her eyes began swimming with tears and she slapped him. “Not fair. Jerk.”

He laughed and hugged her. “Knock him dead. And smile, remember you might be in the papers tomorrow.”

Her stomach dipped. “Oh, God. I hadn’t even thought of that.”

Joe shook his head. “Don’t,” he told her. “You look amazing. You look like all those other women in the room. I just know it.”

* * *

Carter couldn’t believe his luck. He pulled his Mercedes into a parking space and then turned to her. “Don’t get out yet.”

She laughed. “Carter, I can open my door.”

“I know you can, that’s what makes it so much fun to do this.” He came around the car and opened her door. He held out his and she took and eased out of the car.

He offered his arm, but she didn’t take it. Instead, she took his hand and put her hand in his--palm to palm. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”

“What hold my hand?”

She nodded. “Yeah, don’t you remember what I used to say about the little gestures of PDA?”

They headed for the entrance, both smiled as the cameras clicked. He did remember, “Yes, I do.” He smiled at the gentleman that was checking people in. “Dr. Carter Stephens, D. Sc. And guest.”

He searched the list. “Yes, Doctor. Here’s your brochure for the evening.” He smiled at Grace. “Have a good night.”

“Thank you.” She tightened her grip on his hand.

He smiled. “Baby, loosen--”

“What did you call me?”

“Uh…nothing. Never mind,” he muttered. Mentally scolding himself as they walked into the room.

She smirked and kissed his lips softly. “I liked it.”

She turned to face the mayor. “Mayor Bellows.”

He smiled. “Hello.” He looked into Carter’s eyes. “Dr. Stephens, thank you for coming.”

Carter smiled. “Thank you for inviting me.” He looked down adoringly at Grace and then said to the mayor, “This is my date, Grace Allen.”

He shook her hand. “So, good to meet you, Miss Allen.”

“You too, Sir.”

He moved on to someone else and Grace leaned into Carter and whispered, “I hate politicians.”

He laughed softly and whispered into her hair. “No one would have known. You did very well. You sure you haven’t mingled like this before?”

She laughed. “No. This is my first.” She kept a hold of his hand, this time interlacing their fingers. “Maybe it’s my date.”

He smiled. “We can only hope.”

Grace looked to see Iris talking to Mayor Bellows. “Oh, Iris is here. Let’s go say hi.”

He smiled and started following her when the voice from the podium caught their attention. “Welcome, welcome, Central City's finest. How about a toast to Mayor Anthony Bellows? He doesn't just yell at his staff, he bellows!”

“Oh, holy shit,” Grace muttered.

“Is that who I think it is?”

She nodded. “Yep. And there’s too many people in here to do anything.”

“We might not have a choice, Babe.”

“How quickly they forget. James Jesse, your honor, aka The Trickster. And I'm here to relieve you fine people from all your money. Because we know if you're in this room, you've got loads of it.”

“What makes you think that anyone in this room would give you a cent?”

“Because that champagne they just slurped down like so much fruit punch... I added a little something special to it. Trimethylmercury 32. Poison.”

Grace looked up at Carter. “You didn’t take anything did you?”

He shook his head. “No.”

She exhaled, relieved. “Oh, God! Iris did!”

“Without the antidote, you'll begin to feel the effects in about, oh, um…”

“One hour,” the second Trickster said.

“One hour.”

As if on cue, a man began to gag and foam at the mouth.

“I remember you. You got to the party about an hour early. I offered you the very first glass of champagne.” He laughed and then looked at everyone. “An hour is plenty of time for all of you to call your bankers and transfer everything you have to the account number on the bottom of your glass.”

“Carter…”

“Don’t worry, Gracie. I’m not transferring anything.” He eased his way forward and stood next to Iris. “How are you feeling?”

She nodded. “Okay, I guess.”

Grace leaned into her sister. “Call Eddie or Dad.”

She nodded. “Block me.”

Carter kept close to both women. Jesse walked up to Iris and started flirting with her. Then the Flash came in and while they were distracted Grace looked at Carter. “Stay here.”

He nodded. “Be careful.”

She smiled and kissed his lips. “Always.” She snuck away and blended into the crowd. She quickly stripped out of her dress and thankful she had the present of mind to put her suit on underneath. She put her mask into place, then tapped her ear. “Don’t worry, Barry, I got this. Just do as Wells says and get the bomb off. You are not allowed to lose limbs, Big Brother.”

“Be careful, Gracie.”

She flew into the room. “Hey, Jesse.”

“Ahh…it’s the Flash’s little sidekick.”

The younger of the tricksters fired his gun at her and she threw up her hands as the crowd gasped. They bounced off an invisible shield she had put up. He looked at the gun, confused. She walked up to him, quickly disarming him and then bending the gun in half.

She walked up the stage to Jesse and slammed him up against the wall hard, just as Flash came back, giving everyone the antidote and then looked at her. “Gaia, you okay?”

“Fine.” She glared at him. “Where’s Henry Allen?”

He started mouthing off and she squeezed a little more, he started gasping for air. “Where is he?”

Finally he gave it up. She looked at the Flash. “Go. I got him.” Out of the corner of her eye she saw Axel attempting to leave. She threw up her hand and he seemed to be trapped by nothing. “You can keep trying to fight, Axel, but that’s an air construct prison. You ain’t getting out of there until I let you out.” She looked at Iris. “Iris.”

“Yes, Gaia?”

“Call your father and Detective Thawne.”

She smiled and nodded. “Absolutely.”

The entire crowd began clapping and she smiled. The Mayor walked up to her. “Thank you. I’d thank your partner too, but--”

She smiled at him. “I’ll be sure to give him the message, Sir. You just keep running this City and we’ll help make it safe, Sir.”

Moments later, Eddie and Joe came in and Joe approached Gaia. “Thank you,” he said smiling.

“You’re welcome, Detective. Please tell Iron Heights to keep them away from each other. We don’t need them plotting their next great escape.” She tapped his shoulder. “Detective Thawne.”

“Gaia,” he said. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome.” She looked at Carter and gave him a wink and then went through the glass without breaking it.

Moments later, Grace walked back into the room and looked at everyone. “Everybody okay?”

Iris nodded. “Yeah, thanks to Gaia and the Flash. Where did you go?”

Grace smiled. “Checked on the others,” she said quickly. “I snuck off while they were distracted with the Flash.” She took Carter’s hand. “I’m sorry I missed all the excitement.”

He chuckled and kissed her hair. He tilted his head to her ear. “You were amazing.”

* * *

Grace rushed into the lab, still dressed in her evening gown and rushed to her father. “Daddy!”

He immediately wrapped his arms around her and held on. “Oh, Baby.” He looked her over. “Are you hurt? Your brother told me you were taking down the guys that held me hostage.”

She smiled. “I’m fine, daddy. I promise.” She looked at her brother. “We do what we’ve always done.”

He smiled. “Wow. Half of this stuff didn't even exist when I was practicing,” Henry said in awe of everything.

“Yeah, well, I'd be happy to give you a crash course on all of it if you get out,” he immediately realized his mistake. “I'm gonna shut up now.”

Henry laughed. “It's okay.” He turned to Carter. “Carter Stephens.”

Carter smiled and hugged the older man. “Hi, Henry. How are you?”

“I’m really good. Good to have you home.”

He smiled. “Good to be home, Sir.”

“And you’re finally taking a chance with my daughter?”

He nodded. “Slowly, but yes.”

“I have things to figure out with myself before…”

Henry nodded. “Good.”

“Dr. Allen?”

“Yes?”

“I'm feeling the need to give you a hug.”

“Absolutely. I will always accept a hug. Thank you.”

Henry walked up to Barry. “Wow. You gotta tell me. What does it feel like when you're running down the street like a bat out of hell?”

“There's no feeling like it.”

“I bet.” He turned to face Grace. “Princess Gracie.”

She smiled. “Yes, daddy.”

“What’s it feel like to fly?”

She looked at her brother and he smiled, nodding. She looked back at her dad. “Wanna find out?”

His eyes widened a little. “Really?”

She nodded and then turned to Joe. “Dad?”

Joe nodded. “Go ahead, Sweetheart. Be careful.”

She looked down at her outfit. “Let me get changed and I will meet up with everyone out front.”

They nodded. She quickly changed into a pair of jeans a t-shirt. She walked outside. She put her arm around her dad’s waist. “Put your arm around my waist, Daddy.”

He did as she asked. “Now, relax. Whatever you do don’t go dead weight or we’ll crash and don’t stiffen up either. That’s about as bad.”

He nodded. “Got it.”

She pushed off, and they hovered. “You okay, daddy?”

“Yeah. Wow…I can’t believe my baby can fly.”

She laughed. “Gonna go higher.” She went further up and then started flying regular.

As they flew over the city, Grace said, “I miss you, daddy.”

“I miss you too, baby.” He exhaled. “It’s nice to see you and Carter together again.”

She smiled. “Yeah.”

“Still got your crush?”

She nodded then shook her head. “Yes and no. I have a crush yes, I think I always will, but…” she smiled. “I think you and mom were always right. He’s the **_**one**_**. I can feel it. I just need to find out who I am again before we establish who we are together.”

He nodded. “Good idea.”

She sighed. “But I will tell you this…I’m **_**in love**_** with him.”

“About damn time you admitted it.”

“You knew?!”

He laughed. “Of course I did. You’re my daughter, Grace. There isn’t anything you could keep from me.” He kissed her forehead. “And if you don’t marry this boy I may have both your heads examined.”

She laughed. “We haven’t even had our first date and you’re planning our wedding?”

“Your mom was planning your wedding long before I was.”

She laughed. “Oh, good Lord.” She tightened her grip. “Come on, let’s go back before dad thinks that I kidnapped you.”

He laughed.

As promised she brought him back and he said his goodbyes to Wells, Cisco and Caitlin. He looked at Carter and hugged him tightly. “I am so glad you’re home, Carter. You have no idea.”

He smiled and hugged him tight. “Me too, Henry.”

“There’s three things I want you to do for me, okay?”

He nodded. “Anything.”

“One, love my daughter.” He looked him in the eyes. “And I mean, _really love_ her.”

“Without reservation,” Carter said.

“Two, take care of her,” he said.

“Always. That will never stop. What’s the third one?”

“Marry her.”

He laughed and hugged him tightly. Henry slapped him on the back. “I mean it.” He looked into Carter’s blue eyes. “I can tell you this by just looking at her, she’s in love with you, Carter. Always has been.”

He laughed softly. “Tell you what, when we get to the third one I will make sure you’re there to walk her down the aisle, okay?”

He nodded and hugged him again. He said goodbye to his kids and smiled as he watched Grace tuck herself into Carter as she cried softly and he held her.

* * *

Grace walked up to her dad and brother, with Carter next to her. “We may have a problem.”

“What?” Joe asked.

“Iris is looking into Mason Bridge’s disappearance.”

“When did you figure that out?” Barry asked her.

“Earlier this week. We can’t let her do that.” She placed a hand on her chest. “I love her as if she is my sister. I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

“We could bring in Eddie,” Carter suggested. “But that may take you and Grace revealing yourselves to him.”

The Allen siblings and Joe exchanged a look. Then the siblings exchanged one. Barry looked at Joe. “Let’s do it,” Barry said. “For Iris.”

* * *

Eddie walked into Barry’s Lab. “Hey, Joe. Desk Sergeant said you were looking for me.”

He turned. “Eddie, yeah. Uh...sit down. It's about Iris. She's looking into Mason Bridge's disappearance. We can't let that happen.”

There was a whooshing sound and Eddie watched as Gaia came down through the glass ceiling. “Detective.”

Both siblings revealed themselves. Eddie slowly stood, shocked.

Joe spoke, “Eddie, we need your help.”

* * *

Eddie went back to the West house and told her what he ‘found’ out about Mason.

Joe, Barry, Carter and Grace walked into the house; Carter and Grace were holding hands--this time it was him initiating it. Joe walked over to Eddie. “Did she buy it?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Keeping her in the dark, it's for her safety.”

“That is debatable, and we will have that debate. But for right now, what's our next move? How do we figure out what Wells is up to?”

“When Wells was talking me through phasing so I could get the Trickster's bomb off my wrist, the way that he described my being The Flash, running, feeling the wind and the power, it's like he was talking from experience.”

“What are you saying?”

“I don't know how...but he's the man in yellow. Harrison Wells is the Reverse-Flash.”

Grace sighed, running her hand through her hair. She touched Carter’s arm. “Tell them what you thought, Babe.”

“Well, I was telling Grace on the way over here about a theory I heard once in a physics journal I was reading. Have no idea where it went to show you, but in there they were talking about the possibility of time traveling at the right speed.”

“Huh?” Eddie asked.

“Ever see Back to the Future?” Grace asked.

He nodded. “Several times.”

“You know how they have to get up to eighty-eight miles an hour to get the DeLeoran at the right speed?”

Eddie nodded.

“Well, think of it like that. If Barry could get up to the right speed then he might be able to ‘jump’ to another time.”

Carter nodded. “Right, Gracie. Which might explain why Wells…he might not have enough speed to get back to wherever he’s from.”


	25. All-Star Team Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When a Robotics Professor at Hudson University dies from honeybee venom, Team Flash soon discovers that they're not dealing with a meta-human, but an angry scientist. 
> 
> Dr. Ray Palmer and Felicity come to Central City wanting STAR Labs' help with Ray's suit.
> 
> Grace and Carter have a heart to heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait with this chapter. I was having trouble with deciding if the direction that Grace and Carter went would have you guys running for the hills. But I really truly hope you like it. And if not please stick around

Grace sat on the couch in the West home with her brother as they watched television. She dipped her hand into the popcorn bowl again. “So…Carter has invited me to see the world with him as a sort of vacation from all of this.”

Barry dipped his hand into the bowl too and looked at his sister. “Did you take him up on his offer?”

She shook her head. “Not yet.”

He turned a little to face her. “What’s stopping you from accepting?”

“Nothing really,” she admitted. “I want to go, but…”

“But?”

“I know it’ll help with me rediscovering myself again, but if I do go then I know for a fact that we’ll come back together.”

Barry shook his head. “I’m still not seeing the problem, Kiddo.”

She sighed. “Barry, I know he’s my best friend and everything, but he’s also really hot and…” she exhaled. “What if he figures out what Josh already did?”

“Grace, you’re not boring. I know this is your brother speaking, but you’re not. Telling you that was Josh’s way of making himself feel better because he couldn’t keep up with you. I can tell you that Carter thinks that one of the sexiest things about you is your brain. He loves that even though others don’t know it that he knows you’re the smartest person in the room.” He smiled. “That guy loves every bit of you from that funny little birthmark under your ribs to your little bitty feet. And he loves everything in between.”

He shifted on the couch and looked into her eyes. “Don’t psych yourself out before you even give it a chance. You know I have never lied to you, Kiddo and I won’t start now. I honestly believe that you and Carter will be incredible together. Probably one of the best couples I know. The two of you have been dancing around how you feel about each other since you both discovered the opposite sex. Now you have the chance to not only find the girl I grew up with but to also get the guy of your dreams. You have to let yourself do it. When it comes to Carter you have never been afraid to say or do anything, don’t start now. I know it hurt what Josh did to you, but remember that says more about him than you. And you tried to make things with Cisco work, but he even says it, a relationship wouldn’t have worked until he could get past his childhood stuff.”

Barry’s phone beeped with a message and he looked at it. “Joe and Eddie need the Flash and Gaia.”

She smiled and quickly spun. “I love doing that.”

“I can tell.”

She smiled. They took off and got to where the 2 detectives were. They’re told about the robberies. Then Grace said to her brother. “We might need to split up, B.”

He nodded. “I’ll help them, you get the guys at the Shiny diamond?”

She nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

Grace showed up to the Shiny Diamond to see the guys beating out the glass. She walked into the store. “Going somewhere, Gentlemen?”

The guy raised his fist to punch her and Grace quickly disarmed him and ended up breaking his wrist. She stopped the other one just in time for Barry, Eddie and Joe to show up. The guy Grace had groaned in pain. “The bitch broke my hand!”

“So, uh, I'm just curious, but... have you guys not heard of us, or what?” Joe and Flash fist bump. Grace notices that Eddie’s feeling uncomfortable or out of place.

Barry looked at Eddie. “Nice work, Detective.”

Grace tapped her brother and glared at her dad. “Cool it, guys. I mean it.”

“What?”

She rolled her eyes. “You know what, never mind.” She glared at her brother. “Just remember to check your ego at the door.” She turned and walked over to Eddie. “I know you feel useless right now but remember, you’re not. You’re important, Eddie.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Grace.”

* * *

The next morning, Grace pulled into STAR Labs when her phone went off. She looked at the caller ID and smiled. She answered, “Hey, Handsome. How’s London? Or are you still in Germany?”

“I’m in London. It’s about dinner time here.”

She smiled. “So, I made a decision about your offer of a European vacation.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I wanna do it.”

She could feel his smile on the other end of the phone. “Good! I was hoping you’d say yes.”

“BUT…”

“Uh-oh,” he murmured. “A but from you is never good.”

She laughed. “It’s nothing bad, at least I don’t think so. I’m still going to search for who I am, but, if you and I spark on the trip then I’m all for going for it.”

He smiled. “Good, now I don’t feel guilty about some of the romantic spots I picked.”

“Like what?”

“Greece, Italy, and Paris, to name a few.”

“Nice. Make sure to have enough memory cards, Babe. We’re taking lots of pictures. If this trip is going to be what I think it is then I want the memories.”

“Duly noted and I promise I’ll have enough.”

She smiled at everyone. “Talk to you tonight.”

“Bye.”

She looked at everyone again. “What?”

“Nothing,” Caitlin said smiling. “Carter?”

“Yeah.”

“Where is he?”

“London,” she answered to Cisco. “He should be home in a few days, but tying up loose ends there is taking longer than we both anticipated.”

“What’s he tying up loose ends for?”

“So he can come home for good,” Barry answered.

“Anyway. What’s going on?”

“We’re waiting for the test results on what was found in Professor Lindsay Kang’s system.”

“The Robotics Professor at Hudson University?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

“Why? Who’d want to kill a professor?”

Barry shrugged. Caitlin walked back into the room. “Death by apitoxin.”

“Honeybee venom.”

“Bees. Why did it have to be bees? Y'all, I don't do bees. Ain't nobody got time for bees.”

Grace laughed softly. “Sorry, Cisco.”

“Good thing Carter’s not here. We’d have bigger problems.”

“Actually we’re not actually sure if his allergy still stands with his physiology now."

“Carter’s allergic?”

She nodded. “Ever since we were kids I’ve carried an epi-pen in case…”

“Wow,” Cisco said.

She nodded her head. “It’s scary. Trust me.”

“But when a honeybee stings, the stingers are literally torn from their abdomen, and they die,” Wells said.

“But there were no stingers in the body and no dead bees in the car,” Barry said.

“A honeybee can only deposit .1 milligrams of apitoxin when it releases its stinger,” Caitlin informed.

“And yet, Ms. Kang was found with enough venom in her system to kill a herd of elephants.”

Grace exhaled. “That’s a helluva lot of bees though. For the average person--without an allergy--it takes up to eleven-hundred stings before it kills you.”

Wells nodded. “Miss Allen is correct. It appears not only is a meta-human controlling these bees but also increasing their toxicity.”

“Bees communicate by releasing pheromones. Maybe this meta's controlling them through secretion?” Barry asked.

“It’s possible..."

“Anyone want to join me in getting a beekeeper suit?”

“I'm pretty sure I can outrun a bee.”

Grace rolled her eyes.

“Just don't run into a lake. Bees will wait for you to come up for air and then they'll sting you. Discovery Channel. Turns out there’s a lot to discover.”

They all turned when the heard a voice in the Cortex. Grace smiled, excited to see her friend. “Hey! Whatcha doing here?”

“Can you guys come outside for a sec?”

The grabbed their jackets and headed out. They waited for a few minutes and Grace’s pocket started to vibrate. She answered as she began to hear the vibrations in the air, “Hey, Ceej, what’s up, Babe?”

“ _Nothing much. Just checking in_.”

“I hear him,” Grace said to Barry and the others. “Everything’s good here. We’re suspecting we got a meta who can control bees.”

“ _Suddenly I’m really glad I’m not home right now_.”

She laughed. “I thought you’d say that.” She looked up just as Felicity pointed up. She saw the guy falling down as Caitlin and Cisco questioned what it was. She winced when the man in the robotic suit hit the ground. “Baby, I gotta go. We’ve got guys in robotic suits falling out of the sky.”

He laughed. “Okay. I love you.”

She smiled. “I love you too.” She hung up and put the phone in her pocket. She saw the smile on her brother’s face and the surprised look on Felicity. “What?”

“Um….” Felicity looked from her to Cisco.

The scientist laughed. “We’ve been broken up for a while, Felicity.” He smiled at Grace. “And besides I know they’re heading that way.”

The man in the robotic suit stood and said, “Hi, I’m Ray.”

“Huh,” Grace muttered. She looked at Felicity. “Boyfriend, huh?”

“Uh-huh.” She smiled. They turned and walked into STAR Labs. “So, Carter…how long have you..?”

She sighed. “For as long as I can remember.” She looked at Cisco and whispered, “I loved him when he was the nerd and wore glasses and I love him still as he looks like all of the guys I’ve sworn off.”

Barry smiled. “They’ve been in love with each other for almost twenty years.”

Grace slapped at him. “Yes, thank you, Big Brother.”

Caitlin went to check him out.

“So he seems a little tall for you,” Barry said a little thrown by them being here.

“Barry Allen, are you jealous?”

“Je... no. No, I'm not jealous. I just... I really wish you would've called before flying in.”

“Oh no, he flew. I drove.”

“I'm serious, all right? Now is not the best time.”

“He’s right. It’s really not.”

“Why? What's going on?”

“Well, my ears popped. I guess that’s something.”

“So have you... picked a name yet?”

“I'm kind of partial to The Atom. Shoo.”

“You married to that, or...?”

Grace laughed as she walked back in. “Cisco, you don’t get to name everything.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’s not an evil Meta that needs a name. He’s a Billionaire Scientist who wants to help keep his City safe.”

Wells cut in, “Your A.T.O.M. suit... it's quite the technological achievement, Mr. Palmer. I'm impressed.”

“And he is never impressed,” Caitlin added.

“Well, thank you, but I can't take all the credit or seem to quite seem to keep it up.”

Felicity walked over. “He means the suit.”

“Yeah, I mean the suit.

“Yeah. I can attest that everything else works just fine. There's nothing we need to fix in…”

“Um…yeah, the fact that you think we needed clarification on that brought this to a whole new level of weird.”

Ray asked for help and everyone agreed to, until Barry said, “Uh, guys, we kind of have a lot going on already. There's the meta-human killer that can control a whole swarm of bees?”

“Cool,” Ray laughed.

“I'm sure Caitlin and I will provide ample support, Barry,” Wells told him.

“And I will be happy to sit this one out,” Cisco said volunteered.

“You... Ray, why don't you stay here and work on your suit while Barry and I run to Jitters for some java?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

She looked at Barry and Grace. “Coffee?”

“Sure,” the siblings said in unison.

* * *

They grabbed their coffees and headed to a table that would seat the 3 of them. “You know I left Starling City to get away from the mood and brood, but it looks like it followed me here.”

“I know. I'm sorry.”

“We’re both sorry.”

“It's like I said before, now is not the best time.”

“Barry, I have been through enough with you to know when you're holding something back. Is this because I told Ray your secret? Because he is trustworthy, Barry. He wants to help people, just like you.”

“I know, that's not what I'm worried about. It's... I really don't want to put anyone else in danger.”

“In danger of what?”

Eddie approached the table and greeted the siblings. Grace leaned into Felicity and whispered, “We’ll tell you later.” Her cell phone rang and she sighed. “I gotta take this.” She looked at her brother. “Be back in a minute.”

“Okay, Kiddo.” She kissed his cheek and walked off.

She came back moments later to hear, “Why don't we all go to dinner tonight? A little wine and dine is sure to bridge the gap.” They all looked a little unsure. “Come on, we all had fun last time.”

“Sure. Why not?” Eddied agreed.

“Barry Allen, fifth wheel,” he muttered into his coffee cup.

She leaned into her brother and whispered, “I know I’m just your sister but I’m without a date too. We could go together?”

He smiled. “Now that sounds fun.”

She laughed and kissed his cheek, putting her arms around his shoulders. Felicity smiled. “That is so cute that you two do that.”

Grace laughed. She put her chin on his shoulder. Felicity looked at her. “So, are you and Cisco as cool as you seem?”

She nodded. “Now. It’s been almost two and a half months.”

“And you and Carter?”

“We’re not together yet, not officially anyway,” she admitted.

Barry’s phone buzzed. “Another bee attack. Folston Tech.”

Eddie pulled out his phone. “I'll see where Joe is.”

“Bee careful,” Felicity punned.

“For real?”

“Bad pun. Sorry. Just don't die.”

* * *

The mission at Folston Tech didn’t go well and Barry almost died and Grace was stung a few, but her meta-human DNA was able to fight off the toxin from the bees. At the lab, they waited for the venom to be out of Barry’s system. After his system was cleared, along with Grace’s they changed into their outfits for dinner.

Barry tried to hurry them along, however, Ray and Felicity tried to talk them out of it. Finally they left for the restaurant. Grace was dressed in a royal blue Bodycon dress that went to her knees. They got to the restaurant and Grace hugged both Iris and Eddie. Iris smiled. “You look amazing.”

“Thank you. You too.”

“Wow, Iris. Check you out.”

“Mr. Palmer, your table is ready.”

“Great. Shall we?”

“Yes.”

Iris walked with Barry and Grace into the dining room. “Hey, how did he get a reservation here? We've been trying for months.”

“I don't know.”

“He’s a billionaire,” she replied.

They figured out that they were the only ones in the restaurant.

“So’s Carter, but do you think he’d do this?” Barry asked.

“No, because he’d run it by me first unless he was trying to personally surprise me and then he’d do something like this.”

Barry helped Grace into her seat. The waiter looked at her. “Are you Miss Allen?”

“Um…yes?”

He smiled. “Your boyfriend described you very well.”

“Boyfriend?” Iris, Barry, and Ray said in unison.

“Dr. Stephens.”

“Oh!” Grace said, smiling.

“He wanted us to give you a message.”

She nodded and took the piece of stationery from him. She opened it:

_Hey, Baby,_

_Sorry, I couldn’t be there. Have a good time tonight._

_Please ask everyone not to order…that wine that we had at Christmas…the vineyard has now given us a lifetime supply. I would like you to use it tonight, please._

_I love you_

_Carter_

Felicity smiled. “Must be a good a thing if you’re smiling about it.”

She nodded it is. She looked at Iris, Eddie, and Barry. “Remember that wine we had at Christmas?”

Iris’ eyes danced happily. “Yeah.”

“Well, because I finished a couple of weeks early on the security system and he was able to give it to the vineyard sooner, they have given us a lifetime supply of French wines and champagnes.” Her smile widened. “He’d like us to use a bottle tonight for dinner.”

* * *

The evening pretty much went downhill from there. Iris pointedly asked Ray and Felicity about the level of communication in their relationship. The food showed up and Grace thanked them. Ray smiled at Barry. “Barry. I got to admit, I envy you spending so much time at S.T.A.R. Labs. Harrison Wells is, like, a personal hero of mine. I mean, it's amazing just to actually be in the same room with him.”

Grace looked at her brother and she could see the signs that the room was starting to close in on him. He quickly excused himself and Grace excused herself and went after him. They went out into the entry hall of the restaurant and Grace rubbed his back. “Just take some deep breaths, Big Brother.”

“Oh, God…Gracie…I…I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Okay, you two have been acting super strange ever since Ray and I got to Central City. What is going on with you? And don't say it's a bad time. Oliver might be joining the League of Assassins, Laurel's the Black Canary, and Thea's training with Malcolm, so I know about bad times.”

Grace blinked at her in surprise. “Oh, my God…you are aware that friendships go both ways, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then next time that you feel like this, call me. Whatever it is. Oliver joins the League. Thea becomes a psychotic bitch…anything. Call me,” she insisted.

Felicity promised. Grace looked at her brother. “We gotta tell someone. We’re both gonna explode here. I have to wait for time zones to call Carter, so…”

He nodded. “Okay. Joe and I found out that Wells isn't who he says he is. He...he is the man that killed our mother.”

Felicity was shocked. “Oh, my God. But he's been helping you.”

“Get faster, stronger. I know.”

“Why?”

“I don't know.”

“Carter’s got a theory, but it’s just a theory.”

“I don't know anything anymore, especially who I can and can't trust.”

“So you think Cisco and Caitlin are helping him? That's impossible.”

“Is it? Yes. They were trying to save you today, Barry. They did save you.”

“Wells has also saved me. Many times. I thought that Wells was a great man, and I was so wrong about him. What if I'm wrong about everything else too?”

Ray peeked his head in. “Hey, guys, uh, things are getting a little intense in here.”

Grace gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Ray.”

They walked into the dining room to hear Eddie ask, “Please can't we just have a nice evening?”

“Okay, so it's my fault that we're not having a nice evening? I am your girlfriend. Who you live with. I shouldn't have to beg you to talk to me.”

“If I could talk to you about this, I would believe me. But I can't.”

“You know what? I am not hungry anymore.”

Iris. You know what? When you are ready to act like we are two people who love each other, call me. I'll be at my dad's.”

Grace exhaled and looked at Eddie. “Hey, um...I’ll talk to her. It seems I’ve gotten pretty good at talking down a West temper over the last fifteen years.” She kissed Barry on the cheek. “I’ll be back.” She jogged awkwardly in her heels out of the dining room and caught up to Iris. “Hey!”

Iris sighed. “Grace, get back inside.”

“No,” she said. “Come on. You can’t be mad at Eddie over something that he can’t tell you.”

“Really?” Iris stopped and looked at her. “Does Carter tell you everything?”

“Yes, he always has, but Carter’s also not a police officer, Iris.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?!” She exclaimed.

“Everything!” she yelled. “You, Barry and I know first hand that sometimes officers and detectives can’t tell family everything because they don’t want to bring home the bad that they see every day.” She walked to her sister. “Did you ever think of that or did you go one track and think immediately that he was keeping something from you?”

“He is--”

“Did you ever think that it’s for your own good?”

“What?”

She sighed. “Iris, I love you, but sometimes you make it really hard to try to keep you out of whatever you don’t need to know.”

“I need to know--”

“No, you don’t!” She yelled. “Just because you now have a press credentials card doesn’t mean that it gives you license to know everything. There are just some things that Eddie can’t tell you because it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with his job.”

Iris scoffed and stormed off. Grace groaned in frustration and stormed back into the restaurant. “If she wasn’t my sister I might have actually punched her,” she stated joining them again.

“Didn’t go well?” Barry asked.

She shook her head. “Nope.” She picked up her glass and began gulping it down.

Everyone at the table watched in surprise. Barry pulled out his phone and texted Carter.

* * *

Grace walked into the house to see Barry and Iris sitting on the couch talking about Eddie. She held her hand up. “Don’t worry. Not staying. I’ll be spending the night at Carter’s tonight.”

“Grace, wait,” Iris said. “Barry told me the same thing you did. I wanted to apologize.”

She sighed and walked over to her, sitting on the other side of Barry. “As I said, I love you, but there just some things he can’t tell you.”

She nodded. “I know. I’m so sorry.”

She smiled and hugged her. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

* * *

While Ray used his ATOM suit to protect Dr. McGee, Barry and Grace went to the abandoned greenhouse. “It's over, Brie. I know you're trying to kill Dr. McGee. You think that she betrayed you. I can imagine how that feels.”

“You think you understand the sting of betrayal? I'll show you what it means to be stung.”

Grace took off in flight while Barry ran, the bees chasing them both. “Uh...a little help here.”

“Hang in there, Baby.”

Grace levitated in shock. “Carter?”

“Wanted to surprise you,” he said walking over to where the computers are.

“Well, I’m surprised.”

In the lab, Felicity celebrated for a second. “Yes! I’m in! Barry, Grace, I hacked into the bees' frequency. I'm controlling them.” She continued her hacking. “Oh, she's good. She's like my nemesis. I've never had a nemesis before. I kind of like it.”

“She may be good, but she hasn't met a meta like me,” He activated his Crash! Hacking ability and scrambled Brie’s signal. “Now Felicity, shut them down.”

She pressed a few keys and the bees shut down, falling. Barry cuffed Brie to her chair.

Grace walked into the Cortex of STAR Labs and immediately went into Carter’s arms. He wrapped his arms around her and held her for a while. “I missed you,” she whispered.

Ray watched them and then looked at Barry. “What’s going on?”

Caitlin smiled. “Carter’s her center…her rock. Her everything.”

Cisco was weak but he watched them. “Oh, good he’s home.”

* * *

The next day, Grace went to the apartment she used to share with Cisco and knocked. He opened it and smiled. “Hey.” He stepped back to let her in.

“Hi. We need to talk.”

“About what?” he asked closing the door.

“Why you’ve been zoning out lately.” She looked into his face. “Cisco, this is me being your friend. Please, let me in. I can’t help you unless you tell me.”

“I don’t even know what it means.”

“Well, tell me and I’ll see if I can help you.”

He sighed. “It’s like a dream, but I also feel like I’ve lived it too.” He proceeded to tell him what had happened with Wells. That he had revealed himself to be the Reverse-Flash.

Grace gasped. “Oh, my God! Why didn’t you say something?”

He shook his head. “Because it’s crazy, Grace!”

“No, Cisco, it’s not.” She sighed. “Okay, um...I can’t tell you everything right now, but uh...trust me when I tell you this...it’s not crazy. It really isn’t.”

“Wells can’t be the Reverse-Flash.” She didn’t say anything and Cisco continued, “He’s in a wheelchair. He’s paralyzed.”

She nodded. “Or so he wants everyone to believe, but I swear sometimes during our crisis we’ve had it was almost like he wanted to stand or something. Cisco, you know me. I don’t lie. There has always been something really off about Harrison Wells. I’ve always chalked it up to being protective of you or even Barry, but with what I know now it’s not.”

She glanced at her watch and sighed. “Staff meeting. I gotta go.” She kissed his cheek. “We’ll figure this all out. We always do.”

He sighed. “Now my turn.”

She nodded. “Okay, I wasn’t aware I was doing anything.”

“That’s because you’re not,” he told her. “Gracie, I love you. I always will, just not the same way we had started loving each other.”

“I know.”

“Honey, you and I are done. We’re good and done.”

She nodded. “Okay…” she wasn’t understanding his analogy.

He smiled and came to her. “Gracie, stop being so scared around Carter. He’d sooner cut his arm off then hurt you. I can see it every time he looks at you. You’re the center of his universe, G.” He smiled at her. “You’re exactly where you wanted to be with someone and you’re too damn scared to take the chance.”

She exhaled. “I’m afraid that he’ll discover what Josh did…that I’m boring--”

“You’re not boring,” he told her. “You’re one of the most interesting people I know.”

“And I’m afraid of making things awkward between you, me and him.” She sighed. “The last thing I would want is to lose you as a friend. I mean, we’re finally in a really good place as friends…I don’t want to ruin it.”

“And we won’t.” He smiled. “You’ll always be one of my best friends, Gracie. Just because you and I didn’t work as a couple doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. But you’re making yourself miserable and making him wait for nothing, Grace.”

She looked into his dark eyes. “So you’re completely over me?”

“Not completely no. If I had to quantify it I’d say I was about seventy-five to eighty-five percent over you.” He smiled. “I want you happy and I’m finally seeing what everyone else has been seeing. Carter Stephens makes you happy. Now stop torturing yourself and him and find out where it’ll take you.”

She smiled and kissed him soundly on the lips. “You’re amazing.”

He smiled. They were going to be okay. He was being truthful about how he felt. It was time for them both to stop tiptoeing around each other and just move on.

* * *

Awhile later, Grace and Carter walked into the CCPD. Grace stopped him at the elevators. “Wait a minute, please.”

“Okay,” he said. “What’s up?”

“You were right when you said I was afraid of us doing something to upset Cisco.”

“Forget it, Grace. I was being stupid.”

“But you weren’t.” She sighed. “Look, he’s a friend. A really good friend. All three of us were getting long incredibly well I didn’t want him to see us kissing in the cortex and it going back to antagonistic or something.”

He nodded. He wasn’t exactly sure where this was going. “Okay.”

“And I was afraid that you’d figure out what Josh did…that I was boring.”

“You’re not boring, Gracie.”

She smiled. “Thank you.” She took a deep breath. “And this one might sound really stupid, but I believe what everyone else does. We could be **_**really really**_** good together and it scares me.”

“But why?”

“Because Carter, you’re more than the guy I’ve been in love with since I was thirteen years old, you’re…my everything.” She exhaled. “I’ve always wanted to love someone so much that it becomes bigger than us.” She looked up into his eyes. “And I believe that I could have that with you. I’ve never had anything so incredible in my life. The only other time I remember having something this big in my life, this amazing was up until mom died.”

He knew what this was. She was afraid to be with him, to be really happy, to plan a life with someone and have it ripped out from under her like her life had been ripped out from under her when her mom died. He smiled and gently caressed her cheek. “Okay. Thank you for saying that, for telling me that. I appreciate it.” He gently took her face in her hands and whispered, “But Baby, I’m not going anywhere, except on our summer trip across the world.” He looked into her eyes. “No more business trips to Europe.”

Her heart hammered in her chest. “You’re home?”

He nodded. “I’m home for good, Sweetheart.”

She smiled hugely and squealed happily. She took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. Their tongues tangled for a moment before she pulled back. “That was the other part of my reasons for not going for this.” She sighed. “I hate that you were so far away.”

“I hated it too.” He exhaled. “I want forever with you. A 2-story house, dogs, kids, all of it. I want it all with you.” He smiled. “I know we may be a little young to be thinking about this, but I want it. And if it takes me the rest our lives together to prove to you that you’re not what Josh said you were then so be it. But Gracie, when you find the part of you that you lost because of him and because you thought you had to be a different way I want to be right there beside you when you find her again.”

She smiled and touched his cheek lovingly. “So you’re willing to go slow?”

He nodded. “Yes.” He’d go at whatever pace she needed as long as he got her in the end.

She nodded. “Okay. After we talk to my brother I want to go to our stargazing spot there’s something we need to do.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

She smiled. She held out her hand to him and he happily took it. She intertwined their fingers.

* * *

They walked into Barry’s lab, hand-in-hand. Joe saw it. “Do I dare ask or are you going to tell me what you’ve been telling us?”

Grace laughed and cuffed her other hand around Carter’s arm. “We’re gonna see each other… ** _ **but**_** we’re taking things slow. I still need to figure things out for myself, figure me out. Which is why Carter has offered a trip around the world for a while. He thinks me getting away will help me find me again and I believe him. I think it will really help. A lot.”

Joe smiled. “I don’t care what you have to do to bring my girl back. And I am so damn happy that you two are finally going to go for it.”

They laughed and hugged the older man. Carter looked at Barry’s evidence board. “What are we doing?”

“We’re going to clue Cisco and Caitlin in on what we’re doing with the Reverse-Flash and Wells,” Barry explained.

“Are we even sure how they’ll take it?” Carter asked. “I mean, I’d hate for you to lose your best friends.

“Me too, but they need to know,” Barry said.

“All right, all right, who's ready for some...karaoke,” Cisco sang the last word. Seeing the solemn looks on all their faces told him everything.

Caitlin sees the articles and information pinned to the board. “We are not going to karaoke, are we?”

“No.” He stood and walked across to the board. “This is everything we know about my mother's murder and The Reverse-Flash. I've been gathering information on him for a long time.” He pulled down another layer to the board. “And this is everything we know about Dr. Wells.”

Caitlin was confused. “I don't understand. What do Dr. Wells and The Reverse-Flash have to do with each other?”

“Um...they're the same person.”

“That's impossible.”

“No, Caitlin, it isn’t.”

“But it has to be,” she said, not wanting to believe it.

“Look, Caitlin, it took me a long time to believe it too, but it's him,” Barry told her, sympathetically.

“Dr. Wells is a speedster? He's paralyzed.”

“Is he, though?” Joe asked.

“Joe’s right,” Carter said. “I’ve seen him at least once in the short time I’ve known him to be just about to stand, but stops when he sees me looking.” He sighed. “I don’t think he’s paralyzed at all.”

“What about that ghost syndrome they talk about?” Caitlin asked.

“That’s for amputees. That’s because their minds haven’t made them realize that their limb is gone,” Grace answered.

“And why would he kill Barry and Grace’s mother? It doesn't make any sense.”

“We don’t know,” Grace said.

“Cisco. Say something,” Caitlin told him.

Grace stepped up to Cisco. “Hey, look at me.” He turned his attention to her. She smiled. “I promise you whatever you tell us stays in the confidence of us. And I promise you none of us will think you’re crazy.”

“I've been having these dreams. Mostly at night, but sometimes during the day. But they don't really feel like dreams. They…” He looked at Grace and she gave him an encouraging nod, “They feel real.”

“What happens in the dream?” Barry asked, concerned.

“Dr. Wells is The Reverse-Flash. And... he kills me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I know I said it would be awhile before they got together, but guys, they've waited for so long to be together...I couldn't do it to them. (Shrugs) What can I say? I LOVE my characters too much sometimes.
> 
> And I promise they will take it slow.


	26. Who Is Harrison Wells

Carter parked his car at the entrance at the top of the hill. When they were in high school this is where couples went to have a romantic spot to be alone. Most made out here, while some had sex. Carter himself had fantasized about doing both with Grace. He actually wanted their first kiss to be here when he finally got the courage to kiss her.

They both got out of the car and Grace walked to the edge of the hill and looked out at the city. The way the hill was positioned you could stand at the top and see the cityscape and the waterfront in the distance. She smiled when she felt arms go around her and his cool lips press against the curve between her neck and shoulder. She leaned into him and still looked out at the city.

“So what did you want to do up here?”

She smiled and turned into his arms. “Well, if you remember when we were in high school coming up here was supposed to be **_**the**_** thing to do.”

“I remember,” he said softly. “Have you ever been up here?”

She shook her head. “No. I told Lucas that it was really lame.” She exhaled. “You were always the one I wanted to come up here with. Despite what the kids at school thought I always thought this was a very romantic spot.” She looked into his eyes. “Or it could be…with the right person.”

He smiled, took her face gently in his and kissed her lips softly. “That’s what I thought too. I’ve never been up here, except on my runs.”

She smiled. “So I thought….we could have a mini date up here. Dancing, talking…” she lifted her eyes to his and smiled, “…kissing.”

He smiled. “That sounds like the best time to me.” He lifted his hand and the radio in the car started playing Michael Buble’s _Some Kind of Wonderful_.

She smiled as he changed their position and held her in his arms to dance with her. They swayed in time with the music and Grace could feel her heart fluttering a little with each sway. This is what she wanted to feel every time she was in the guy that she was with. That fluttery excitement of anticipation. She wondered if it would still be there months from now.

As Michael’s version of the Elvis classic filled the outdoor air, their dancing slowed down and Carter began singing the words to her softly. Her heart fluttered again as she looked into his moonlit tinted eyes. “Kiss me,” she murmured her eyes never leaving his.

When he bent his head, she met him halfway. His lips were warm and sweet on hers. She quivered at the sweetness of his kiss. She had never been kissed like this....like she _mattered_. Usually, when a guy kissed her it was to satisfy whatever he had going on it was never to be mutually beneficial, but with Carter…everything was different…everything _felt_ different.

Desperately seeking to deepen the kiss, to really know what it felt like to kiss him, she whimpered, opening her mouth slightly. Taking the invitation he knew she was giving, he swept his tongue inside to caress the walls of her delicious mouth. The taste of her was addictive and oh, so sweet at the same time.

Their tongues danced together in a silent melody, that was so sweet that they both moaned. Grace knew she'd forever remember this moment in her life. She would remember the sound of the city, the smell of the air, the feel of his arms around her and this kiss…this kiss would forever be seared into her brain.

For the first time since the first kiss, she was really, truly kissing him back and it was taking every ounce of self control to not take this where he wanted to go with it. He moved one of his hands and tangled it into her soft waves as he deepened the kiss. He had never felt anything like this before, had never wanted anyone like this before. He had never had someone respond to him like this before. She felt wonderful pressed against him. After what seemed to be forever, Carter reluctantly pulled away, breathless and wanting to to do it again as he watched her eyes flutter and seeing the clouds of desire in her eyes. "Wow...." he heard her whisper as she eased herself onto her feet.

He exhaled slowly, trying to find his words. “Y-Y-Yeah.” He smiled. “So that’s how you kiss when you’re not holding back, huh?”

She laughed. “I think so.”

He smiled as he bent his head down and whispered, “Let’s do it again.”

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. His lips came to hers and the kiss was soft and gentle again.

* * *

About 5pm the next day everyone who knew about Barry, Grace and Harrison Wells’ true identities gathered at the West home to talk over where the plan went from there. Grace sat on the arm of the couch as Carter walked in from the kitchen and handed her beer. “Thanks, Babe.”

“You’re welcome.”

“How was work?” Eddie asked as he came around the couch, beer in hand.

She shrugged. “It was okay.” She moved herself to sitting half on Carter and half on the couch. She sipped her beer. Carter’s arm came up and held on to her leg at the knee. “Oh, I put in my leave absence with Eric.”

“For the dates we discussed?” Carter asked.

“Leave of absence?” Caitlin asked. “You’re leaving CCPN?”

She nodded. “Carter and I are going on an extended vacation.”

Cisco smiled. “She’s gonna do some soul searching, but I made her promise to also make the trip a romantic one.”

“Oh,” Eddie smiled. “That’ll be fun. Where’re you going?”

“Um…we’re gonna hit all the spots that Grace has wanted to see. Finally, go ziplining in Hawaii.”

“Italy, Paris, Greece, Cayman Islands, New Orleans, St. Lucia, Bora Bora--”

“Bora Bora is the one you and Iris share,” Eddie replied.

She nodded. “We saw it in a travel brochure and knew we just had to. And Australia.” She smiled at Joe. “Taking pictures with the koalas.”

He laughed. “That sounds really fun, Sweetheart.” He smiled at her and said, “And you’re going with your best friend.”

She nodded. “Just like he promised when we were thirteen.”

Joe stopped and smiled at the thought. “I forgot about that.”

“It only took eleven years, but…”

She rocked into him. “Oh, stop. We had to make enough money to take months off of our everyday life.”

Eddie smiled. “Send me and Iris a postcard from all your destinations.”

Grace’s smile couldn’t get any bigger. “Planned on it.”

“Where's Barry?” Eddied asked as he was about to sit down.

“He should be here any second. I sent him out for…”

There was a whoosh sound and Caitlin and Grace’s hair flew everywhere. Barry stopped at the coffee table and announced. “Pizza!”

“What?” Cisco muttered as he rushed over to decide which flavor.

“From Coast City?”

“Supposedly the best in the West.” Pulled his jacket off and started picking up the newspapers and papers off of the floor.

“Why did I not think of this before?”

“Because I wouldn’t let you, Francisco,” Grace reminded him. “Remember, the rule, using our powers for personal gain. Running to Coast City was one of those.”

He smiled. “Right. I remember.” He smiled at Carter. “Good luck with that part.”

He laughed. “We’ve talked about it and have to an understanding.”

Cisco smiled down at the pizza. He reached into the box and pulled a slice out. “Come to papa.”

Joe looked up and saw Caitlin sitting on the stairs. “Caitlin?”

“I'm not hungry.”

Grace looked over her shoulder and asked, “You okay, Cait?”

“Yeah, just not feeling hungry.”

“Okay.” She tapped Carter’s knee. “What do you want?”

Carter’s nose wrinkled. “None of your brother’s that’s for sure.”

She laughed. “Which is why I told him meatlovers with extra cheese.”

He smiled. “And that is one of the several million reasons I love you, Gracie.”

Everyone got a slice as Joe walked to stand in front of the fireplace. “Okay, six months of investigating Harrison Wells has led us nowhere, so we're going back to the beginning to see what we can find out.”

“What does that mean?” Eddie asked.

Cisco smirked. “Road trip, Baby.”

“Joe and Cisco--”

“And Carter,” Cisco said. “I asked him earlier. Since he’s been out of the country so much I thought it would a great time to get to know each other.”

Barry nodded. “Right. Joe, Cisco _and_ Carter are going to go to Starling City.”

“Starling City? What for?” Caitlin asked.

“To investigate the car accident that Dr. Wells was in with Tess Morgan fifteen years ago.”

“I... I don't understand. Why?” Caitlin asked, confused.

“Dr. McGee said that after Wells's accident, he became like a complete stranger. Just a different person entirely.”

“Because the love of his life died? You of all people can understand how grief can change a person.”

“You’re absolutely right, Caitlin. Grief changes someone. And grieving can take on many forms and is different for everyone. Grief can change you forever and most of the time it does. It changed me and Barry. It changed Joe when his wife died. But the thing is the people who know you, who love you--your friends and family--should always see a little piece of you still in there. It shouldn’t change you to a completely different person. Someone that not even a good colleague can recognize.”

“Caitlin, we believe that Dr. Wells is the Reverse-Flash and killed Barry's mother, and he may have done the same thing to Tess Morgan. Caitlin, we believe that Dr. Wells is the Reverse-Flash and killed Barry's mother, and he may have done the same thing to Tess Morgan. We have to learn everything we can about that night. See where it leads us.”

“Oh, um, can you cover for me with Dr. Wells?”

“You mean lie?”

“Yeah.”

“I need some air.” She hurried out the door.

“Whoa... hey, Caitlin…” Barry attempted.

“Doesn't look like Caitlin's with us.”

“No, she's with us. I'll talk to her.”

“What do you want us to do here?” Eddie asked.

“Business as usual while we're gone.”

“Copy that,” Eddie said and picked up one of the pizzas and headed into the kitchen.

Barry smiled at both Joe and Carter. “Well, I want to wish you good luck over there, but I'm also scared of what you might find.”

“Scared is a good thing. Scared keeps us alive.”

* * *

The next day, after a very long goodbye to Carter that consisted of lots and lots of kissing, Grace went about her day as she usually did. She walked into her office and began putting her stuff away when Iris walked in. “Good morning,” Grace said smiling.

“Morning. Have you talked to dad at all?”

She shook her head. “Not since last night. Why?”

“Did he tell you that he wouldn’t be reachable?”

She shook her head. “No. Maybe he’s taking a couple of personal days.”

“Dad doesn’t take personal days.”

She sighed quietly. “Iris, I don’t know where dad is. I’m sorry. However, I’ll call him and leave a message and if he contact me I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you,” she said and walked out. Grace quickly pulled out her phone and texted Eddie and Barry: ****Head’s up. Iris is looking for dad!****

* * *

About a half an hour or so later, Grace picked up her jacket and walked out of the office. She walked out of the building. She needed to talk to Barry about something. As she headed downtown, she got another text from Carter: ****Hey, Baby. Checking in and letting you know we made it to Starling City.****

She smiled and texted back: ****Glad to hear it. Miss you. Call me tonight.****

Seconds later another came in: ****Count on it. I Love you.****

She felt the flutter in her belly that went to her heart. She texted back: ****I Love You. Hurry home.****

As she headed through downtown she saw Eddie chasing someone and caught up to the guy before he could. She got to Eddie just as the guy slammed him against the light pole. She slipped out of her shoes and she walked up to him, tapping the guy on the shoulder. He turned and she punched him in the face and took out one of his kneecaps with a flat kick. She straightened and looked at Eddie. “You okay?”

He nodded. They both began fighting him. After kicking their asses the mystery man took off running. Barry caught up to him as Grace helped Eddie to his feet.

Barry came back minutes later and looked at them both. “You two okay?”

They nodded. Grace looked at her brother. “Who the hell was that?”

“That was the Meta we’re gonna capture.”

She sighed. “How when he can change into anything and anyone.”

“We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

Eddie looked at Grace. “Where in the hell did you learn to fight like that?”

She smiled. “Besides that dad taught us?”

He nodded, trying to catch his breath. “Yeah.”

“My boyfriend,” she said and then smiled.

Eddie smiled back. “What?” He looked at Barry. “What’d I miss?”

He smiled. “It’s the first time she’s referred to Carter as her boyfriend.”

“Oh,” he smiled. “Nice.”

“Gotta go,” he said and left.

She smiled happily. “I gotta call Carter.” She kissed Eddie’s cheek. “See you later.”

“Bye.”

* * *

“Hey, you’ll never figure out what Barry discovered about this new meta?” Grace said as a way of a greeting.

“What?” Caitlin asked.

“It’s a shapeshifter.”

“A shape-shifter?” Caitlin asked.

They both of them nodded, but Barry said, “Yeah, I literally saw a grown man, like, m... morph into a teenage girl.”

“That's fascinating. Today's physicists have always regarded programmable matter as nothing more than a theory, but I guess your shape-shifter proves it can be done.”

“Wait, so he, or she, or I... whatever. This person can actually transform into anyone they touch?”

“Yes, it appears so. That includes you, Mr. Allen.”

“Dr. Wells is right. If you are touched while you're the Flash, and he transforms into you, we run the risk of him exposing that Barry Allen is the man behind the mask. Because at this point we don't know if the shape-shifter is capable of absorbing more that just your physical characteristics.”

“Like he might be able to copy my speed?”

“Or even Grace’s powers,” Caitlin added.

“That would be bad,” Grace and Wells said in unison.

Barry added, “Got it. Hands off the meta-human.”

“Hands off the meta-human,” Wells repeated, hopeful.

“So how do we find someone who can transform into anyone?” Caitlin asked

“We, I guess like any problem, you just go back to the beginning. In this case, that would mean finding the first person the shape-shifter morphed into when they discovered their powers,” Wells told them.

Grace smiled. “I have an idea.” She looked at Caitlin. “May I?”

She nodded. “Yeah, your boyfriend sits there most of the time.”

“My what?” she asked typing information into the computer.

“Carter,” she said. “Your boyfriend.”

“Oh,” she smiled into the screen. She quickly rushed over the keys.

“Whatcha doing?” Barry asked.

“Hacking into the CCPD records and pulling up any cases where the suspects claim to be innocent--”

“How’d you know that?”

“Because if it was me and a crime was being committed with my face I’d be telling people all the time that it wasn’t me.”

“Tell me again where you learned to hack?” Barry asked.

She smiled. “Carter taught me. He’s been hacking since we were eight.”

“Wow…” Caitlin muttered.

“What?”

“You two do have a history,” she said.

She nodded. “Almost twenty years worth.” She smiled. “Here we go. The first guy that claims he didn’t do anything wrong is Jacob Fisher. He claims he was being setup by his best friend Hannibal Bates….” She looked up at her brother. “Hannibal?” She scoffed. “And I thought your full name was bad.”

“Shut up,” he laughed. “When did he start?”

“About a month after the Accelerator exploded.”

* * *

****-STARLING CITY…** **

****

The SCPD was busy today. The phones were ringing off the hook and people were talking. Carter stood with Joe and Cisco, waiting for Captain Lance to come back with the accident report. As he folded his arms in front of him his phone chimed with a text message. He pulled it out of his blazer pocket and looked at the message. He opened it:

****[To Me]: Hey, Baby, I hope all’s going well with you. We have a shapeshifting meta here. Who can literally shift into anyone! And guess what…? I referred to you as my boyfriend without being prompted or provoked.** **

He smiled. And texted back, smile getting wider:

****[From Me]: Sounds like you’re going to have an eventful day. How’d it feel? Good? Weird?** **

****[To Me]: Considering the circumstances with everything I thought it would feel weird, but it felt really, really, really good. Like normal. Does that make sense?** **

****[From Me]: Makes perfect sense, Baby. Ooh! Gotta go, Captain Lance is coming. I love you.** **

****

He nodded. Captain Lance approached and handed over the file. “There it is.”

“This is all you have?”

“Well, it's a pretty cut and dry case, Detective. Harrison Wells, Tess Morgan are out on a Sunday drive, the tires blow, Wells loses control, and, uh... sadly Tess dies on the scene. Couldn't imagine carrying that kind of guilt around.” He looked at the three of them. “So, uh... what are you three hoping to find?”

“We're not exactly sure yet,” Joe replied glancing through the photos.

“You come all the way from Central City, you don't know what you're looking for?”

“Just following a hunch.”

“Uh, can you take us to the accident site?” Cisco asked.

“It's been 15 years. I think the pictures will serve you better.”

“Still, we'd appreciate a look.”

“Captain, I need those witness statements for the Joshua Brown trial,” Laurel asked her father.

“Um, yeah, well, like I told you, end of day. Sorry, uh, Detective West, Cisco Ramon, Dr. Carter Stephens, this is A.D.A. Laurel Lance.”

“Related?” West asked.

“Daughter.”

They shook hands. Laurel pointed at Carter. “You’re the new billionaire in Central City that’s been voted in like Forbes Magazine as the man to marry, right?”

He nodded, blushing a little. “Yeah.”

“But he’s not single anymore,” Cisco told her.

Laurel smiled. “I’m sure the single ladies are going to be very sad to hear that. However, I’ve sworn off billionaires.”

He smiled. Cisco smiled at Laurel.

“You work at S.T.A.R. Labs with Barry and Grace Allen, right?” Laurel asked.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Can I talk to you privately for a minute?”

“Sure.”

* * *

Joe, Carter and Cisco walked into Starling City Plaza hotel and Carter smiled at the woman behind the desk. She looked up from her computer screen and gasped, “Dr. Stephens!”

He smiled and glanced at her name tag. “Hi, Tanya. Do you have any suites that can sleep three?”

She nodded. “Absolutely, Doctor.”

He got the room and paid her using his credit card and took the 3 cards from her as she told him the room number. He went to the elevator before saying anything. “I hate that.”

Joe smiled. Carter saw the smile and sighed. “Joe.”

“I’m sorry, man. I’m so proud of you and to think my kid gets some of that.”

He smiled. “Half of what I make.”

Cisco looked at Carter dumbfounded. “You don’t like recognition?”

“They’re not recognizing me for my achievements, Cisco,” he said as he stepped into the elevator. “They’re recognizing me because my genetics made me look like this, not because I’m good at what I do.”

Cisco nodded. “Okay. I get why that sucks. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Did you still want to watch--”

“Yeah.”

Carter nodded. “Okay. Joe, you take the big room.” He stepped off of the elevator and let them all in. As he walked in, his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID. He answered, “Hey, Sweetheart.”

“Hey, Handsome. Guess where I am?”

He heard the jazz record playing in the background and thought about for a moment. “Um…home?”

She giggled and then his phone buzzed in his hand to tell him of a picture message. He looked at the picture and laughed. “Ahh…you’re at the loft. How’s it feel?”

“ ** _ **AMAZING**_**!” She sighed. “I was also going to spend the night here tonight.”

“It’s your choice,” he said and dropped the leather bag into the room wit the 2 queen beds. “That is why you have a key.”

“So, how’s it going?”

“I got recognized twice. Once by Laurel and then by the hotel clerk.”

She laughed. “You’re hot, Baby. I told you that was going to be your downfall one day.”

“Yeah, yeah. You know once we come forward telling everyone you’re my business partner, you will too.”

“I know. Which is why I’m running around the world with you.”

* * *

Jerking slightly out of her sound sleep, she groaned and padded around for her cell phone. She spent 3 hours in the tub, just enjoying talking to Carter and the water. It made her think of what their vacation was going to be like. “Note to self: when you spend the night here again give them the main number.” She answered without looking at the caller ID, “This had better be good.”

“ _Eddie’s been arrested!_ ”

Okay, that was a good reason. She heard the fright and concern in her sister’s voice and immediately bolted upright. “What?” she asked. “For what?”

“For shooting two cops, apparently,” Iris told her. “Oh, God, Grace.”

“Don’t move. I’m coming to get you.”

“Okay.”

Grace hung up the phone and quickly changed out of her pajamas and into a pair of jeans and shirt. She picked up her phone and ran out, grabbing her keys on the way out the door. She called Barry. “What in the hell is going on?”

“Hannibal touched Eddie at some point and transformed, shot two cops and now the ADA wants to charge him and put him in Iron Heights.”

Grace got into her car and brought it to life. “Fucking fantastic!” she exclaimed. “I go home for the night because you tell me that you and Eddie got it and I wake up to Iris freaking out because her boyfriend’s been accused of shooting two cops.”

“Sorry, Gracie.”

She sighed. “It’s fine.”

* * *

****-STARLING CITY…** **

Joe held up a picture of the scene from 15 years ago and then looked at the street today. “This is definitely the place.”

“Hey, sorry, I’m late,” Carter said.

“Late night?” Lance asked.

Carter laughed. “Not for what you think. I was talking to Grace--”

“Girlfriend?”

“Yes. My girlfriend.”

Joe said. “And my adoptive daughter. She’s Barry’s sister.”

“Oh,” he said. Cisco went to the trunk. “What is that?” Lance asked. “A, uh, metal detector?”

“Uh, essentially. Only instead of listening for metal objects, I'm listening for anything that emits a abnormal sound wave.” He smiled, clicked his tongue and walked away.

Lance laughed. “Right. Where'd you find this kid?”

“It's a long story. So, it must be interesting having a daughter who is also the D.A.”

“Yeah, interesting's the word.”

“I have a daughter of my own.”

“Grace right? Same line of work?”

“No, I wouldn't let her anywhere near this nonsense. And Grace isn’t my only daughter. Both of them are not in this line of work. However, Grace does help save people.”

“Smart guy.”

“Overprotective.”

“You three get along?”

“We don't always see eye to eye, but no matter how mad they get at me or how mad I get at them, there's a strong bond. Why? You two have a bit of a rough patch?”

“Yeah, she, uh... she kept something from me, you know, something important. Lied to me about it for months. Hard to come back from something like that.”

“Mm. She give a reason?”

“Not one I could accept. Ah. Well, sometimes we lie for love. Especially when it comes to family, right?”

Carter walked over and grabbed the shovel as Cisco yelled for Joe. “I’ll dig,” Carter said.

“Thanks, Buddy.”

He smiled. “Grace would kill me if you had a heart attack.”

He laughed and playfully shoved the younger man. “Now you shut up.”

They started digging and awhile later, they found what looked like a hand. As they tried to collect themselves, Carter’s phone buzzed with a text message, he looked at it:

****When you coming home? Everything seems to be falling apart here. Barry’s acting really strange, Carter. Like really weird. And Eddie’s been arrested...for something he didn’t do. I swear! I need you!** **

****

“Oh, damn.”

“What’s the matter?” Joe asked.

Carter showed him the message. He and Joe exchanged a wordless look that told the both of them everything. Cisco looked at the 2 men. “What’s up?” Carter showed him. “Oh, man. Does she say that a lot?”

He shook his head. “Grace is one of the strongest women I know. You have to be to be through what she has been. But the only time she’s ever used that phrase is when she’s feeling lost and she needs something familiar.” He texted back:

****Hang in there, Baby. We’re almost done here. Just be careful and dad and I will be home soon. I love you.** **

****

Carter showed him the text. Cisco nodded. “Will that work?”

Carter shrugged. “It always seems to.”

Cisco shrugged. “I don’t know if I would know what to do if I got an ‘I need you’ like that. I wonder what’s going on?”

He looked at Lance and then at Cisco and Joe. “I’ll tell you later. Let’s get this over with and get home.”

* * *

“GRACE! GRACE!”

Grace turned and looked at her sister. “What?”

“I have to show you something!” she said and rushed Grace back into her office, shutting the door behind them both. “You’ve got to see this.”

“What…?”

Iris played the tape for her of Eddie shooting the cops. “Did you see it?”

Grace’s eyes narrowed as she studied. “Play it again.”

Iris played it back and Grace watched, she then straightened. “Eddie’s not left-handed.”

Iris nodded. “Right.”

“What in the hell is going on?”

“Let’s find Barry.”

* * *

As promised, The Flash and Gaia defeated Hannibal Bates and released Eddie. And they locked Hannibal away in their prison. They walked down the plank and Grace stopped. “Big Brother?”

“Yeah, Kiddo?”

“You okay?”

He nodded. “I’m great.”

She smiled and held out her hand. He wrapped it around her shoulders. He kissed her hair. “So, when’s Carter coming home?”

“He texted me to tell me they were on their way. So….sometime between now and tonight?”

He nodded. “Good.”

“However, Joe said that he wanted us and Caitlin to meet in your lab. They found something in Starling.”

He nodded. He looked at Caitlin. “What about Dr. Wells?”

“Come here. I need to show you something.”

* * *

They walked into Barry’s lab and Grace walked over to Carter and kissed him soundly on the mouth. “I missed you.”

He kissed her again. “I missed you too.”

She looked at the body. “Who is this?”

“This is the real Harrison Wells.”

She shot Joe, Carter and Cisco a look. “What?”

“This isn't possible,” Caitlin said, stunned.

“Caitlin, I ran the DNA test twice. It's a perfect match,” Cisco assured her.

“This body is the real Harrison Wells.”

“If this is Dr. Wells, then who have we been working for this whole time?”

“Who did I trust myself and Barry with?” Grace asked.

“Dr. McGee said that after the accident, Wells became a completely different person. It's because he is a different person.”

“Yeah, but who?” Grace looked up at her brother. “There’s no one that we know, that mom and daddy knew that would do all of this, Barry.”

“I know, Kiddo. Like always as long as we stick together we’ll figure it out.”

Carter looked at the group. “There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

“What’s up?” Caitlin asked.

“Has either of you--the four of you--ever looked at the blueprints for this place?”

“No…,” Grace said cautiously. “Baby, why would we? Barry and I never had a reason to.”

Barry looked at his old friend. “What did you find out?”

“What?” Cisco asked. “How can you tell?”

Barry smirked and flicked his forehead. “Right there!”

“Ow!” he laughed. “Jerk!”

Barry laughed. Cisco looked at them. “What about it?”

“Just like with Grace when she’s fuming mad, her brow furrows,” Barry said.

“It does?” Cisco asked.

Carter nodded. “Yes, Sir.” He rubbed the spot on her forehead where it furrows the most. “Right there.” He rubbed between the bridge of her nose and then kissed the tip of her nose.

She batted his hands away. “Stop it.” She smiled at Carter. “However, Carter’s brow doesn’t furrow. It creases when he’s found something he doesn’t understand.”

“Dang. I wish I knew someone that well,” Cisco said.

Carter laughed. “We’re just weird like that.” He looked at everyone. “Come on. It’s back at the lab.”

* * *

They got back to the lab and Carter easily brought the computer to life. Cisco started to lean over to touch it. “Don’t!”

“What? Why?” Caitlin asked.

“Well, one, we have no idea who this guy is now that we know that he isn’t Harrison Wells.” Carter looked at his friends. “If for some reason he has the ability and does do it I don’t want anyone’s fingerprints on anything right now.”

“So...what are we doing here?”

Carter quickly hacked into the system by just staring at the computer screen and then brought up the schematics to the building. He looked at Grace. “Gracie, do you see it?” he asked as he swiped through the blueprints of the building.

She leaned forward and looked. “Wait,” she said. “Back up, CJ.”

He backed up one and she seen it. “Right there,” she said pointing without touching it. “Do you see it?”

Caitlin looked at it. “Is that a secret room?”

Barry looked at everyone. “Why would he need a secret room?”

“Let’s go find out.” Grace had always loved mystery. Which is why she became a reporter first.

They walked into the corridor and Carter lifted his eyes and stared. “It should be…” he muttered. “Here.” He looked at Cisco. “Go get your tachyon scanner.”

He nodded and went to get it. He came back a couple of minutes later. He scanned the wall where Carter stood and the device beeped wildly. He found the high levels of tachyons. Barry pressed his hands to the wall. He moved his hands around and the door opened. He turned and looked at everyone. Grace took Carter’s hand and they walked in after Cisco and Caitlin.

As soon as they passed through the wall closed back up. The lights to a suit case lit up to reveal the Reverse-Flash’s suit. “Oh, my God…” Caitlin muttered.

“Holy shit….” Grace said. “Barry.”

The lights to the rest of the room came on and they were in a white room with walls that had a weird bubbled texture. Grace dropped Carter’s hand and looked around. “What in the world is this place?”

Carter saw the podium and what was glimpsing into. “Uh...Barry...Grace. You...You gotta see this.”

****April 25, 2024** **

****FLASH MISSING** **

****VANISHES IN CRISIS** **

“Oh, my God….” Grace breathed.

“What the frak,” Cisco said.


	27. The Trap

“ _Flash missing. Vanishes in crisis_ ,” Cisco quoted.

Barry continued reading. “ _After an epic street battle with the Reverse-Flash, "our city's very own Scarlet Speedster disappeared in an explosion of light_.”

“An explosion of light?” Grace asked. “What the heck?”

“That’s not all,” Carter said. “Listen to this… _During the battle with the Reverse-Flash. The Flash’s sister and long time partner, Gaia was injured and has been in a coma since the Flash disappeared_ .”

“Barry, look at the date,” Caitlin said softly.

“ _April 25th, 2024_.”

“I’d be thirty-two,” Grace whispered. “Almost thirty-three.” She looked at Carter and Barry. “I go in a coma at thirty-two? And you disappear at thirty-five?”

Carter took her hand as Barry spoke. “Guys, when Grace and I fought the Reverse-Flash at Christmas, he said that we'd be fighting for centuries.”

“Wait, you can't really think that this is from... the future.”

“That would mean Dr. Wells, or whoever he is, is also…”

“From the future.”

“I have to say, I'm really digging the brighter red suit. And the white on the symbol?” He smiled. “That's dope.” He paused, “Wait a second. Suppose we now change the color on your suit. Will it be because we got the idea from this picture? That would mean we're living in a causal nexus. This... wow. This is so trippy. Like, Marty and the Polaroid trippy.”

“Not as trippy as the names on the byline,” Caitlin said in surprise.

“ _Iris West-Allen_?” Barry said.

Carter looked at the other name and so did Grace. She was the one who said it, “ _Grace Stephens_?”

“Mazel tov?” Cisco said, unsure.

“ _Hebrew_.”

Caitlin gasped and Grace yelped. “Wait a second….” Grace muttered.

“ _Ancient language of the Jewish people_.”

“Uh-uh. What the hell was that?”

“Is someone here? Hello?”

A blue-white see-through head popped up. “Good evening, Barry Allen.”

“Uh... H-hi.” He stammered. “You know who I am?”

“ _Of course. Barry Allen, director of Central City Police, CSI Division_.”

“Director?” Barry questioned unsure.

“I guess you get a promotion,” Cisco said.

“ _Also known as The Flash. Founding member of…_ ”

“Who am I?” Carter interjected before she could continue.

“ _Dr. Carter Stephens. Director of S.T.A.R. Labs_.”

“Director of S.T.A.R. Labs? Cisco asked. “Congratulations?”

“Uh...yeah. Thanks.”

“ _Inventor. Investor. Co-founder of the multi-billion-dollar tech company, Stephens Global Dynamics. Husband of Grace Stephens. Also known as Matrix._.”

“Me?” Grace asked.

“ _Grace Stephens, Inventor. Investor. Co-founder of Stephens Global Dynamics, wife of Dr. Carter Stephens. Co-Director of S.T.A.R. Labs and it’s Public Relations director. Investigative Reporter and co-founder of the Central City Citizen with her sister-in-law, Iris West-Allen. Sister to Barry Allen. Also known as Gaia_.”

“What are you?”

“ _I am Gideon, an interactive artificial consciousness_.”

“Gideon?!” Grace exclaimed. She turned to face Carter. “That means...that I….”

“AI. Sick.”

“You know Dr. Wells?” Barry asked.

“ _Yes_.”

“Do you know who he really is?”

“ _I don't understand the question_.”

“I... I mean, what is he doing here? W-why did he come here?”

“ _To kill you_.”

“What?!” Carter and Grace exclaimed. Grace’s head felt like it was going to explode. “Why?”

Cisco’s phone vibrated. “Wells is in the building.”

“What? How do you know that?” Caitlin asked.

“I put a tracker on his wheelchair. Which, if we're wrong about him and he is paralyzed, I'm going to hell for that one. He's in the Cortex. Ask questions fast,” Cisco told them.

“Why did he kill Nora Allen?”

“ _Because he was angry_.”

“About what?” Carter asked.

“ _That you escaped_.”

“He's on B level. He's coming this way.”

“What does he want from me?”

“ _For you to be The Flash_.”

“And me?”

“ _You had to become Gaia for Barry to become the Flash. You’re a team. You’ve done your best work together_.”

“Maybe that's why Wells let the particle accelerator explode so that you could become The Flash and Grace to become Gaia,” Caitlin suggested.

“Why? I mean, for what reason?”

“Guys, we got to go. He's almost here. Hurry.”

“All right.”

“Wait a second. Wait. What if HAL over there tells Wells that we were in here?”

“That would be bad.”

“If I can get into its operating system, maybe I can disable its memory core.”

“Gideon, can you show us where your operating system is?”

“ _Certainly_.”

Cisco laughed. “Yeah. Nope. That's not gonna happen.” 

“Guys, he's in the corridor.”

“Gideon, could you just, like, not tell him that we were here?” Barry asked.

“ _Of course. I will accept any command given to me by you_.”

“Barry.”

“Come on. We got to get out of here.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Why would you accept my commands?”

“ _You helped create me_.”

“Helped create you?” Grace asked. “I created you.”

“ _Yes, you did. You, Dr. Stephens and Barry Allen created what you see now_.”

Carter nodded. “Makes sense.” He sighed. “Gideon, please, do not tell Dr. Wells we were here.”

“ _Of course, Dr. Stephens_.”

They got out of the room just before they were caught by Wells.

* * *

They went back to the West house and Barry texted Joe to let him know they were back and that they needed to talk. When Joe and Eddie got to the house, they proceeded to tell them what had happened with the little room and all that. “Really? For five very smart people, that was really stupid. What if Wells had caught you in that…” Joe said tossing his coat onto the couch.

“Time Vault,” Cisco added.

“Thank you.”

“Dad, you’re kinda missing the point here,” Grace said turning her body into Carter’s touch.

“What’s the point?”

“That we now know why the Reverse Flash is here and why he’s after Barry and me.”

Before Joe could say anything Eddie piped up, “Okay, I know we've seen a lot this past year, but time travel?”

“I did it. Or I will do it, I mean.”

“Excuse me?” Eddie said.

Cisco stepped forward and attempted to explain to Eddie, “One of the two speedsters in their house the night their mother died was Barry. I mean, The Flash. He was there. Which means that one day in the future, Barry will travel back in time to that night.”

“Okay.”

“Actually, I wasn't talking about that. I kind of already time traveled. By accident.”

“What?” Joe asked while everyone except Grace and Carter looked confused.

“I was running to try and stop a tsunami from hitting the city…”

“When was that?”

“A few weeks ago.” He looked at Cisco. “Right before you started getting those dreams.”

“Oh, you mean the ones where Wells uses his super-speeding hand to shred apart my heart? Those?”

Yes, right. So, what if they're not dreams?” Barry asked softly.

“What else could they be?” Caitlin asked.

“Memories.”

“I’m not following,” Joe said sitting in his chair.

Barry looked at Carter and Grace for some help. Carter leaned forward and Grace moved her long legs to the floor. Grace began, “Carter and I have a theory and this may be totally crazy.” She sighed. “That it may be possible that Cisco was affected by the Particle Accelerator explosion and that it took Barry's time traveling the day Mardon came to town to make the powers manifest.”

“Powers?” Cisco asked.

“Yeah,” Carter said gently. “Cisco, we think you can see other timelines, other events that happened in that timeline.”

“Like the future?” Caitlin asked.

“No,” Grace answered. “Not really. These events would have actually happened.” She walked over to Joe’s desk and picked up a legal pad and a pen.

Barry smiled. “Ooh. She’s gonna do one of her demonstrations.”

She laughed. “Shut up.” She drew a line. “Okay. So….here’s our current timeline. The Civil War happened and all that. World War II, etc.”

“Right.”

“However, there could be another timeline where the same events happened but they had a different outcome.” She sighed. “Like when Barry time traveled. The first timeline he was on showed us fighting Mardon. But when he went through the day to the end, it would have ended disastrously different. Mardon had created a tsunami that he was aiming to hit the city.” She looked at everyone. They were actually listening to her. Normally when she started one of these people would tune her out.

“Keep going, Sweetheart,” Carter urged.

She looked at Cisco. “Carter and I believe you can see the other timeline too. The one where the same events happened just with a different outcome. Like you dying and the tidal wave that would have hit the city had Barry not changed everything.”

Cisco’s mind was whirling. He was a meta? “So I have the power to see alternate events and outcomes like a clairvoyant or something?”

“Well, yes,” Carter said trying to ease them into the realization. “You still with us, Cisco?”

“I’m here,” he murmured. “A little surprised. My best friend just informed me that I can see alternate timelines and events it’s gonna take a minute to process.”

“If it never happened, how can Cisco remember it?” Joe asked.

“I don't know. I don't know,” Barry said. “I think the important thing is, he does. Guys, I think I've got a really bad idea.”

Carter snickered. “Of course you do.” He looked at Barry. “Will it get me ground for months again?” He smirked. “Cuz I gotta say the first time that happened it wasn’t fun.”

Barry laughed. “You were only grounded from seeing Grace or playing with her anymore.”

“Which will make the future that we saw really hard to actually happen.”

Grace laughed and tapped her hand into Carter’s chest. “Stop you two.” Grace looked over at her dad. “Barry.”

Barry looked at Joe who looked like he was somewhere else. “Joe? Joe, are you listening?”

Coming back to reality, Joe looked at everyone. “Yeah.”

“We... we have to access Cisco's memories somehow. Somewhere in his subconscious is the key.”

“The key to what now?”

“Getting our dad out of prison.”

“And how are we going to do that?”

Grace sighed. “We’re gonna get Wells to confess to our mom’s murder.”

“And I have an idea on how,” Carter said. He looked at Caitlin. “That article you showed Grace and me.”

Caitlin nodded. “What about it?”

“I have blueprints back at the loft that might help us make something that will help Cisco see what he needs to see.”

“But first,” Grace said. “We’re gonna go back to our respective places and freshen up. We’ve been wearing these all night, guys.”

Barry nodded. “She’s right.”

Grace stood and looked at Carter. “What I was gonna wear today is still at your place.”

He took her hand and they walked out with everyone.

* * *

Carter pulled up to the curb and they both got out of the car. They walked hand in hand to the entrance to the loft. They got inside and Carter said, “There’s something I got from London for you.” He smiled. “I saw it in the window and it reminded me of your eyes.”

“My eyes?”

He nodded. He jogged upstairs and walked into his room. He opened is safe and pulled out the necklace box. He jogged back downstairs and stopped in front of her. She smiled and opened it. She gasped when she seen the blue topaz necklace sitting against the black velvet. “Oh, Carter…”

He took it out of the box and stepped behind her to put the necklace around her neck. They both looked at her reflection in the mirror with the necklace. She touched it gently. “It’s beautiful,” she murmured.

He smiled and kissed her cheek. “Just like you.”

She turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you.”

He smiled and kissed her lips softly. “You’re welcome.”

She smiled and pressed her lips lightly to his. She kept her mouth close as she said, “I love you, Carter. I know I haven’t said it as much as you have, but I was waiting…” she sighed. “It’s just that when something that feels this perfect for me happens I always expect it to...disappear and, and, and I don’t want to lose you.” She sighed. “I would love nothing more than to someday be your wife.” She kissed him long and deep. “And I love the fact that my future self didn’t hyphenate. I actually really like it.”

He smiled down into her face and kissed her. “Me too. I like that you’re modern and independent with everything else but that you would have done something so traditional as to take my name…” he kissed her. “Nothing would make me happier than to be your husband.”

She smiled. “I didn’t think I’d be okay with knowing what happens, but I really am, but let’s enjoy being girlfriend and boyfriend for awhile.” She smiled up at him. “I’ve waited for over ten years to call you my boyfriend. I want to enjoy it.”

“Agreed,” he said and kissed her long and deep.

* * *

“Alright, let’s get started,” Grace said as they entered Cisco’s lab.

Caitlin turned to greet them and stopped. She even looked beautiful not all dressed up like she usually was when she came here. She was wearing a pair of faded black-gray jeans, a pair of high-heeled knee-high gray boots, and a flannel with the sleeves rolled up to above her elbows. Under the flannel was a gray shirt. Her dark hair was simply braided down her back and she had just enough makeup on to hide the fact that she hasn’t slept yet. “Wow…um, don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so simple.”

She laughed. “That’s because I’m usually going to work or coming from work.” She smiled. “This is what I usually wear on the days off from being Grace Allen photo editor and Gaia.”

“Except no makeup,” Cisco said.

She nodded. “Right. But considering I haven’t slept in about twenty-four hours I think makeup was called for.”

Caitlin laughed. “I’m with you there.”

Cisco looked at Carter. “Let’s see what you got.”

Carter walked over to an empty table and spread out the single blueprint. “It’s a pair of glasses,” he told him. They began brainstorming.

Soon, the fivesome was hovering over a pair of modified sunglasses. So, this will allow Cisco to see into his dream?” Barry asked.

Grace nodded. “I got it from Caitlin’s journal article. It talked about lucid dream therapy. They think it can be used to help people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Cisco scoffed. “Traumatized, stressed? Check and check.”

Grace laughed softly. “Right.”

“The theory is that it will allow people to objectively enter their dreams and face their fears. Still working on the talking part.” Caitlin said leaning over the computer.

Grace nodded. “In this case, Cisco’s dream about the Reverse-Flash.”

Cisco tightened some things on the glasses as he asked, “And you're sure this thing isn't gonna, you know, mess with my brain?”

“Oh, the amount of electricity required to trigger lucid dreaming is harmless. Probably.”

“Who's going to be lucid dreaming?” Wells asked as he wheeled into the lab.

“Um…”

Instead of waiting for them to come up with a lie, Grace said, “Carter and I were talking the other night and um, we thought with everything going on with the Metas and everything and what people see that it might be precautionary to um be prepared for when people go for psychological issues.”

“And lucid dreaming will help the doctors better understand their fears.”

She smiled. “Exactly.”

“Intriguing. Of course, you still need to guide the patient from the outside, right? Direct them to specific aspects of the dream.”

“We're still working on a communications interface,” Cisco said.

“When we dream, the middle brain lights up with electrical activity, whereas the higher brain remains dormant. Once we find a way to make both parts of the brain active, then it's just a matter of finding the frequency that will stimulate the language center. Then the dreamer could speak. He could describe his dream.”

“Exactly. Or her dream. It could be used for anyone.”

“Right, it's not gender-specific. I would try a frequency of 45 hertz to start.”

“Thank you, Dr. Wells.”

“Well, you never cease to impress me, Miss Allen.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Doctor.”

He looked up at her. “You should really consider a change in profession.”

She smiled, nodding. “I’ve thought about it. Just haven’t made an affirmative decision on it.”

* * *

Not feeling comfortable to do the glasses dream test at STAR Labs, Carter, Cisco, Caitlin and Grace show up to the precinct and head directly to Barry’s lab. However, Barry stopped Grace. Grace looked at them. “We’ll be up in a minute.” She looked at her brother a little confused. “What’s wrong?”

“Eddie’s gonna propose!” he whispered.

“What? How do you know?”

“He just showed me the ring.” He sighed. “What if that paper is wrong and Iris and I…”

“Okay, Barry, you need to breathe.” She took a couple of breaths with him. She nodded. “Good job. First of all, tell me everything.”

He told her everything from Eddie wanting to propose, that he was going to do it tonight and that Joe said no.

“Whoa, time out,” she said. “Dad said no?”

He nodded. “Yeah, it shocked me too.”

“Wow…”

“Why would Joe say no?”

She shook her head. “I have no idea, but if dad said it then you know he has a very good reason to do so.”

He nodded. “Right.” He exhaled.

“And that paper is from the future so either Eddie and Iris don’t get married or if they do something happens for them to separate. Either way you’re gonna get your happily ever after, Big Brother.”

He smiled. “So, will you Mrs. Stephens.”

She laughed softly. “Thank you.”

“You seem happier then you have been in about ten years.”

She nodded. “I am happier,” she admitted. “Cisco was amazing. I will always love him, but it’s not the same way as Carter and thankfully Cisco is very encouraging and supportive about it. Of course, him informing me a few nights ago that he wasn’t pining for me helped.” She looked up at her brother. “We’ve sorted things out and he and Carter are friends, I’m thinking they’ll become best friends.”

He laughed. “Probably.”

“I’m feeling more settled. I’m finally remembering what **_**I**_** used to be like. Before high school, before Luke, before college and before Josh. How funny and happy I was.” She smiled. “How happy I was ****about**** my life, ****with**** my life.”

He sighed, relieved. He smiled. “I’m seeing it too. It’s like that ball of sunshine that Gracie used to be is waiting to burst free.”

She smiled and nodded. “Exactly.” She hugged him. “Come on. Let’s go before they have all the fun.”

Caitlin was placing the glasses in place when they entered the lab, Caitlin was explaining what was to happen. “Grace had me put in Delta waves so it should help you sleep.”

“Cause God knows you can’t fall asleep like a normal person.”

He smiled. “Shut up, You.” He laid down.

“Now, close your eyes and just let the waves take you, okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah, but Grace you know I can’t fall asleep just like….” He was out.

“Ah, so that's how you get him to shut up,” Joe teased.

“He's entering REM,” Caitlin smiled. It's working.”

Grace looked at Barry. “Speak softly. Don’t raise your voice or anything. Softly.”

He nodded. “Cisco. Can you hear me? You're dreaming, bud.”

In Cisco’s dream he can see himself in the Cortex of the Lab and Caitlin has just told him she’s gonna take Wells to Jitters. “Whoa. Guys, this is mad freaky.”

“Okay, um, where are you?” Barry asked.

“Um, in the Cortex. I mean, I know I'm just dreaming that I'm in the Cortex, but it feels so real.”

“What is dream you doing?” Barry asked.

“Caitlin just left. I asked her to take Wells to Jitters.”

“Why... why do you want Wells out of the lab?”

“I think he might have tampered with my work. I need to check.”

Barry, Joe, Carter and Grace exchange a look of excited surprise.

“Okay. Okay, I'm walking to the bunker.” Cisco looked down at his shirt. “Oh, man, I love this shirt. I thought the dryer ate it.”

Joe snickered and Grace slapped at him lightly. “Dad!” Joe quickly covered his mouth.

“Focus, Cisco,” Barry said firmly.

“Okay, okay. All right. Now I'm running tests on the containment system.”

Grace’s eyebrows knitted together as she listened, trying to picture what he had done. “Why are you doing that?” Carter asked softly.

“Because I’m trying to understand….this data... It doesn't make any sense.”

“What doesn’t make any sense about it, honey?”

“All the supercapacitors...they were all still fully charged. There's absolutely no reason that the Man in Yellow should have escaped.”

Grace looked up at the others. “What? Why?” she mouthed.

In the dream he messes with the cords and he sees the mirage of the Reverse-Flash. “Oh, my God….”

“What, Cisco?” Grace asked.

“It was just a hologram. He tricked us.” He paused and then said, “Oh, God…Wells is here.”

“Cisco, it's just a dream. He can't hurt you,” Caitlin reassured him.

“You better be right about that.”

“Eobard Thawne,” Cisco muttered sleepily.

“Thawne? Like Eddie Thawne?” Joe questioned.

“Nora?” Grace and Barry said in unison.

“What about my mom?”

“He's confessing.”

“Cisco?”

“He... he didn't want to kill her. It was you, Barry. He was trying to kill you.”

The monitors began wildly beeping. Grace looked at his activity. “He’s scared.”

“His blood pressure's 200 and his heart rate is 147. Guys, he's losing higher brain function.”

Grace touched his shoulder gently and said softly, soothingly, “Cisco. It’s okay. He can’t hurt you. Please, remember that. Whatever he does to you in there you will be fine on our end I promise.”

“His hand... It's vibrating! He's gonna kill me!” Cisco exclaimed.

“Oh, God. He's gonna have a stroke.”

“Get him out of there!”

As he started to get more and more frightened they attempted to pull him out of the dream, but he bolted out of it himself. Grace hugged him. “You’re okay. It’s okay. It was just a dream. You’re okay.” She held him tight as he held on to her.

Barry’s phone rang. It was Wells he tells him about a fire in New Brighton. A high rise.

Joe spoke, “I know that building. That's where Captain Singh's fiance works.”

“On our way.” Grace turned to Carter and kissed him, long and deep. She looked at Cisco. “You’ll be okay.” She kissed his forehead. “Love you, Cisco.”

He smiled. He knew she didn’t mean it romantically anymore and neither did he. “Love you too.”

She flew out the window of the lab and quickly changed. She got to the high rise and landed on the ground. She looked at the firemen. “All right, Gentlemen. Let’s work together. I’ll help your water supply stretch up there. I just need you to keep it running.”

“Yes, Gaia.”

She put her hands out and closed her eyes for a second, then directed the water upwards.” She tapped her earpiece as she felt the rumble. “Flash, it’s gonna blow. I’m gonna go in.”

“No, Gaia, you can’t!”

“I’m the only one who can withstand it without choking myself to death. Listen to what Wells tells you and I’ll get everyone out.”

“Gra…Gaia, I--”

“Trust me!” she screamed. “I love you and I know you’re trying to--” The floor blew. She jerked. “I know you love me and you’re trying to protect me, but this is my job too. I’m here to pick up for your weaknesses. Please, let me do that.”

“Okay, go.”

She flew up to the building and flew inside. She scanned the room. “How many of you are on this floor?”

She didn’t get an answer, so she just picked up one and brought them down. Singh stopped her, pleading with her to get Rob out. She smiled. “I promise you, everyone will get out safely. Even your fiance.” She flew back up and got two more. She kept going like that and then grabbed Rob as the vacuum that Barry was creating began to get strong. “Come on, I do believe your fiance is waiting for you.”

She landed on the ground and placed him down. Singh hugged the other man and looked at her. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “You’re welcome.” Her smile widened. “I hope you two have a beautiful and happy marriage.”

Rob coughed. “Thank you, Gaia,” he said hoarsely.

She jet-propelled upward and helped her brother by blowing the fire out.

* * *

Grace and Carter walked into the West house, laughing. Grace’s laughter died when she felt the vibe that happened. “What’s going on?”

“Your brother had an encounter with Wells when he was leaving after the fire.”

“Oh,” Grace and Carter said in unison.

“It's so strange. I mean, I look at him now, and I know that he killed my mom and he sent my dad to jail, but, I mean, sometimes he's just so kind in the moment, I actually like him.” He looked at Joe. But you never did.”

“No.”

“And Grace thought that something was wrong too.”

“No. Well, at least now we know how to trap him. In Cisco's dream, he confessed to everything. If we can just recreate those conditions, he'll do it again.”

“Man, Barr. Taking down bad guys, pulling confessions. I'm the cop. I'm the one that's supposed to be doing this.”

“Look, if we're gonna get him to confess, it has to be with someone that he truly trusts, someone that he'll genuinely let his guard down with. He thinks of Cisco as a son.”

“Well, then we need to do a better job protecting him than I did protecting you.”

“I'm not sure what that means.”

“Dad, what are you talking about?”

“Barry, Grace, this is all because of me.”

“No.”

“Dad, that’s not true!”

“I never should've let Wells take you from that hospital. None of this would've ever happened.”

“If you hadn't let him take me, I would be dead, for sure.”

“Me too. With how hot I was running….”

“But even then, I knew something wasn't right. Everything in my gut was telling me not to trust him, but I did, because I was so desperate to see you both okay.”

“Joe, this isn't your fault. It's not your fault. Look, every bad thing that has happened to us... All of it... It was him. And now he's gonna pay for it.

“Dad, listen to Barry.” She walked to the man who had raised her since she was a child. “This isn’t your fault.” She smiled up at him. “Barry and I don’t blame you.” her eyes welled with tears. “You did exactly what a parent is supposed to do…daddy.”

Joe lifted his eyes to hers and she smiled. “But Gracie, this wouldn’t have--”

“I’m not entirely sure about that. Thawne was so determined to get what he wanted he probably would have taken us if you hadn’t.” She went into his arms and hugged him tightly. “Barry and I don’t blame you, daddy. We never have. The only one we blame is Wells.”

* * *

They met back at the lab and told Eddie everything they found out, except for the Reverse-Flash being some kind of relative of his. “So, Wells set up a fake showdown with a fake opponent who was never really there?”

“He figured if we saw both of them together it would prove that he wasn't the Man in Yellow.”

“This all just keeps getting crazier and crazier.”

Caitlin walked out of the elevator. “I just talked to Dr. Wells. He's attending a lecture downtown, won't be back until 5:00.”

“All right, Cisco, you know when he gets here you need to be working on the trap so he sees you set off the hologram.”

“Hold on, isn't that, in your dream, when everything went all…”

“Kali Ma. Temple of Doom. Yeah, that definitely happened. But this time, I'm ready for him. I originally designed the force field to keep a speedster from getting out.” He walked into the space of the vortex and pressed the button. “But I've reversed it. Now it won't let one in.” He activated it and the force field buzzed.

Barry looked at everyone. “Back up.”

Everyone backed up toward the wall. Barry readied himself and then ran toward Cisco, but he bounced right off and hit a tool cart hard. Grace rushed to her brother. “You okay?”

“Ah. It works.”

Carter pulled him to his feet.

“Okay, as long as I'm inside, Wells won't be able to get near me.”

“And I will be in the Cortex watching and recording everything that happens.”

“And as soon as we get the confession we need to free dad, I'm moving in.”

“So what do I do?” Eddie asked.

“Wells also threatened Iris, so if something goes wrong here, we need you to keep an eye on her until Wells is neutralized.”

“I'll always keep Iris safe, Joe.”

Joe looked at his kids and Carter shrugged, Grace sighed and Barry exhaled. “Come on.”

Grace looked at them. “Wait, what about me and Carter?”

Joe smiled. “Ahh...yes, you and Carter.” He looked at them both. “Go to dinner. I made reservations for you both at Solo--”

“Dad, we can’t go on a date--”

“Yes, you can and you will.” He smiled. “Look, you two, I know you’ve been waiting to have your first date--”

“Actually it’s our second,” Carter corrected.

“What?” Barry said.

“When was your first?” Caitlin asked.

“The night we told Cisco and Caitlin what we were doing,” Grace replied. “There was somewhere where we always wanted to take each other, so…”

Joe smiled. “Well, whatever number it is, go. Enjoy yourselves.”

* * *

Grace bent her head and laughed at what Carter was saying. “I remember that! Man, your dad was so pissed!”

He nodded. “That was the car he had when he was sixteen.” He looked into her eyes. “I was thinking about seducing you in that car that night.”

She felt her tummy flip at the thought. “Really? Why didn’t you?”

He smiled down at the table, blushing. “Because I chickened out.”

She smiled. “Well, we’ll have to see if you chicken out when you drop me off tonight.”

His head whipped up. “Were we…?”

She smiled. “I had thought about it.”

Grace’s phone went off.

She glanced at it and it was a 9-1-1 text from Barry and saying Cisco needed them. “We gotta go. Cisco’s in trouble.”

They quickly stood and ran out of the restaurant. Carter handed about 300 dollars to the waitress. “Tip for everyone and our dinner. Thank you.”

* * *

They got back to the lab and got downstairs to see a bullet sailing through the air and Barry trying to stop it. He was unsuccessful and it hit Wells. Grace ran to Cisco as Caitlin asked him, “You okay?”

“No! He didn't confess.”

“Cisco, are you okay?”

“Yeah. I'm never ever gonna sleep ever again, but, yeah, I'm okay.”

“He's dead,” Caitlin said.

“He didn't confess. Joe, this was it. Our dad's gonna be in prison forever.”

“Barry, I'm sorry.”

“Hey, uh... Whoa.”

They watched in shock as the Wells who laid on the floor morph into Hannibal Bates.

“What the hell?”

“How the hell did he do that?”

They heard over the speaker system. “I told you this before. I am always one step ahead... Flash. Allow me to reintroduce to you Mr. Hannibal Bates and his incredible ability to transform into any person he touches. I knew that ability would come in handy. I did not expect it to come in handy this soon.”

“You sonofabitch!” Grace screamed.

“You used him! Like you used all of us!” Barry exclaimed.

“Well, he served a purpose. Didn't take much convincing. Just the simple promise of his freedom.”

“You’re one sick bastard!” Carter said.

“You ruined my life! All our lives!”

“We stood by you after everything that happened.”

“I trusted you!” Grace yelled. “It was just for your grand scheme! All so you can try to kill him!”

“I can see how this must be difficult for you to understand, but trust me, your lives now are so much better because of what I have done for you.”

“What you have done for us?” Carter said. “Do you hear yourself? This isn’t better? I’m a walking talking fucking computer because of you! Because of your need to take out my brother!”

He laughed softly. “I’ve always thought it was adorable how you and Barry call each other brothers.” He paused. “A little incestuous ultimately with you married to his sister.”

“You better hope I don’t find you, You Sonofabitch!” Grace screamed. “Because I will use every power I have and I will kill you!”

He laughed. “You couldn’t do it when your brother disappeared. Do you really think you’re gonna do it now?”

She gasped, her eyes immediately swimming with tears. He continued, “You don’t even know half of what you’re capable of…Gaia.” He laughed. “And now, with me completely ignoring your powers you never will.”

She turned to her brother. “I knew he did it on purpose!” she exclaimed. “I knew it! It’s all just to make it easier to take you on.”

“You don't have to hide anymore,” Joe told him. “We know you're not Harrison Wells. Just tell us who you are.”

“A confession will get you nowhere. You've seen who I am. You know what I can do.”

“You want to kill me, go ahead. I'm not gonna fight you. But just tell the police what you did. Get my dad out of prison.”

“I don't want to kill you, Barry. I need you. And..” He laughed. “I also did not anticipate, as difficult as the past 15 years have been for me, how much I would come to love working with you. With all of you. And yet, that does not change what needs to happen.”

“Then face me now!”

“Yeah! Come on you cowardly asshole! When and where?”

“Oh, we will face each other again. I promise you. Soon. Very, very soon.”

“He’s in the Time Vault!” Cisco told them.

Grace and Barry ran to the vault. She stopped when she saw all the footage. He was recording them. “Barry….our intimate lives….this entire time….”

“It was all a set-up. We thought we set a trap for him, but he set a trap for us.”

Grace zeroed in on a piece of footage. “Barry...Iris.”

They went back into the Cortex. “We have to find Iris.”

“Why?”

“Wells. He's been watching all of us. He has surveillance footage set up everywhere. Our homes, my lab at the police station, Central City Picture News.”

Grace looked at Carter. “It….he surveyed intimate moments. Moments when I was with Cisco...you….”

Carter held her.

“Cisco, call me when you have a location.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“No!”

“Barry, she’s my sister!” she exclaimed. “Just like with you, I’m going to protect her. I have to.”

He nodded. “Get ready.”

* * *

They both left and headed for the bridge. Grace tapped her earpiece. “Barry, Eddie would be proposing to Iris right now. How are we going to do this?”

“I don’t know. We just have to make sure that Wells doesn’t hurt her.”

However, when they got there they were too late. Flash stopped to see if Iris was okay while Gaia flew after Wells. She tapped her earpiece. “Carter?”

“I’m here, Baby. Talk to me.”

“You know how I told you that I can catch up to Barry’s speed by riding his air?”

“Yes,” he said. Knowing exactly where she was going with the question he said, “You should be able to ride Thawne’s too. Which gives you the advantage.”

She smiled and pushed off, flying quickly to catch up. Doing as they predicted, Grace rode Thawne’s air and caught up to him. She punched him and both he and Eddie fell. She landed. “I told you, you sonofabitch. Don’t let me find you!”

“Ahh...so you discovered one of your great powers to fly faster than the Flash.”

“Didn’t take much. Just a conversation with my future husband.”

“Ahh, yes. The dynamic duo of Allen and Stephens.”

Back at STAR Labs, Joe looked at Carter curiously. “Did you…?”

“We’ll explain later.”

She shook her head. “Shut the hell up.” She stomped the ground and then shoved at the ground.

Eddie watched as the terrain rose up, knocking Wells on the ground. He watched the fight between Grace and Wells. She held her own for quite a while, but he got the upper hand, Eddie concluded it was probably from years of fighting her and she laid on the ground, writhing in pain.

Back at the Cortex, Carter heard her heart monitor beeping to inform them she was critical. “Grace!” No answer. “Gracie!”

“Carter….” she coughed. “I need….”


	28. Grodd Lives

Carter walked over to the computer and started typing. He pulled up the information from her emblem monitor. Cisco was shocked. “When did you do that?”

“A few months ago,” he murmured. He looked at his friend. “I thought it sucked that Thawne was only monitoring Barry’s vitals. There are two people going out there. We should be monitoring them both. Not just one because one psychotic asshole has a hard-on for my future brother-in-law.”

“You’re right, Carter,”Caitlin said. “We’re sorry.”

“Found her,” he murmured. He looked at Joe. “I’m going to get her. I’ll talk to Barry on the way.” He looked at both Cisco and Caitlin. “Don’t be sorry, just fix it.”

Joe nodded. Cisco sighed. “I couldn’t tell if he was angry or not.”

“Oh, he’s pissed,” Joe told him. “Actually I’d say beyond pissed.”

Carter got into the telephone lines and started moving at super speeds. “Barry.”

“Yeah?”

“Your sister took on Thawne by herself. She’s hurt…bad. I might need you to help me.”

“Where is she?”

He told him her location and Barry promised to be there. Carter got to her location and jumped ou of the lines and ran to her. “Gracie!” He sobbed. He knelt next to her. She looked bad. She was battered and bruised. He flipped his eyes and listened to her heart monitor and vital signs. “Please, baby, don’t go yet. We still have a whole lifetime to live, Sweetheart. Stay with me.”

“Oh, God…” Barry muttered coming to a stop. “Gracie…”

“She’s okay. But we’re gonna have to hurry to get her to her Hydra-Tank.”

He nodded. “I’ll take her and put her in. See you there?”

He nodded. But he didn’t leave right away. He stayed put and tried to keep his emotions in check. The woman he’s been in love for the last 10 years is hanging by a thread and right now he can’t do anything to help her.

The enormity of that thought had everything crashing down on him and he began sobbing.

* * *

Caitlin walked into the Cortex and looked at Cisco. “Has Carter been here all night?”

He nodded. “Just like the other night. He won’t leave until Grace wakes up.”

“Any change?” Caitlin asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. She’s getting stronger. But it’s a slow process.”

Caitlin sighed. “I feel so bad.”

“Why?”

“Because we should have been helping her too, Cisco. Just like with Barry she should have been a priority too. And yet, we both shrugged her off. That wasn’t right.”

He nodded. “Yeah, and I was the one dating her. I should have listened to her too. She was telling us that Wells wasn’t acting right. I accused her of being jealous of the attention Barry was getting.”

Caitlin sighed. “I guess Joe’s right. We have a lot to make up for.”

* * *

Barry could tell that something was wrong with Iris from the moment she walked in. “What's up?”

“Something happened. And I'm not supposed to say anything, but I couldn't keep quiet.”

“What happened?”

“The Man in Yellow, he took Eddie right in front of me.”

“Oh, my God.” Iris jerked away from his touch. “Are you okay?”

“No, no. Not at all. No, I...the Flash was there. He told me to go home and not to talk to anyone because he would fix it, but he hasn't. I think the police should be out there searching for Eddie.”

“No, Iris…”

“My dad needs to know the truth.”

“Uh, I think that The Flash is right.” He walked to his locker and pulled out his bag. “Joe and the cops, they're no match for The Man in Yellow, Iris. They would just get hurt.”

“So you think The Flash is out there right now, searching for Eddie?”

“I'm sure he's doing everything he can to find him.”

“Yeah, well, I'm finding it pretty hard to trust The Flash right now.”

“Well, then, trust me. Okay?”

“Where’s Grace? I’ve been calling her since last night, but she won’t answer.”

“Oh, uh...Carter whisked her away to Coast City for a few days.”

“Oh. Why?”

He shrugged. “Something about a romantic getaway or something.” He looked at her, smiling apologetically. “Look, I'm so sorry about all of this. I... Everything is gonna be okay. I have to go.”

* * *

Barry walked into the Cortex. “Hey. You planning on keeping all those cameras Wells used to spy on us? That's kind of creepy, don't you think?”

“First rule of mechanical engineering, dude. Never waste good tech.”

“Among other things,” Carter said. His voice was hollow.

“Hey, how’s Grace?”

“She’s getting better, but slowly.” He ran a hand over his blond hair. “Barry...I….”

“Hey. She’ll get better I promise. A few more hours in the hydra-tank and she’ll be fine.”

“But how does she get out?”

“She usually just swims to the top when she wakes up,” Cisco explained. “She pops the lid and--”

The computer beeping pulled them all from the conversation. “Central City Gold Reserve's under attack,” Cisco informed them.

“Gold? That's the case Singh wants us on. Mm. I'll be right back.”

* * *

“Your eye movement is normal,” Caitlin studied after Barry’s fight with the new Villain. “No signs of neurological damage.”

“Do you think the thief might have been a meta-human who put the whammy on you or something?”

“I... I don't know. When Rainbow Raider got in my head, all I felt was anger. But this was not that. This was just overwhelming fear.”

Cisco cued up the footage. “Hmm. Looks like when you went down, the thief got disoriented too.”

“Maybe we both got whammied.”

They all turned. “Then you know how it feels.” She paused walking toward him. “Hi, Barry. Or should I say The Flash?”

Barry exhaled and took her into the room with the hydra-tank and his treadmill. Iris immediately headed for the tank. “Grace!” She touched the glass.

Carter stood from his chair and looked at Barry. “Bar--”

“She knows,” he told him.

“Oh, um….” he nodded. “I’ll give you the room.”

“Carter.”

He turned back around. “Yes?”

“Is...Is...Is...Is...she gonna be okay?”

“From the way she described how the water heals her, yes. She’ll be just fine. It’s basically how Barry can heal so fast. Water just speeds up the process.” He smiled. “Excuse me.”

Iris looked at Barry. “How….how does water heal her?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “She’s never explained it to me. All I can say is it seems to regenerate her cells or something.”

“And she’ll be okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah. She took on the Reverse-Flash--the Man in Yellow last night. Carter and I found her severely injured and Eddie and Reverse were gone.”

“Oh, God…”

“Wait. How did you find out?”

“When I touched The Flash the other night, I felt a jolt of electricity. The only other time I have ever felt anything like that was when you were in a coma after the accident.” She laughed in disbelief. “I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner.”

I can only imagine how angry you are. I'm not angry, Barry. I'm just disappointed.”

“Okay.”

“Does Eddie know?”

“Yes, he does.”

“Is that why he got kidnapped?”

“No, I don't know why Wells took Eddie. I…”

“Dr. Wells is The Man in Yellow? Everything he's been doing, helping me... it was all a lie. Wells killed my mom.”

“Is he gonna kill Eddie?”

“No, he's not. I'm gonna get Eddie back, I swear.”

“Yeah, The Flash said the same thing.”

“Look, Iris, you have to believe me, I...there were so many times I wanted to tell you. Even Grace insisted we tell you. You were the first person I wanted to tell, but everything started getting crazy, and I thought maybe Joe was right and I shouldn't say…”

“Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me that my dad knew and he told you not to tell me?”

“He was trying to protect you. We both were.”

She sighed. “Yeah, well, maybe it's time you both stopped.”

She walked out of the room.

* * *

Carter came back from getting something to eat when he heard the upbeat pop music. He walked into the Cortex and seen them in the work out room. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“We thought this might help,” Caitlin replied. “It helped Barry.”

He smiled. He understood the gesture. He turned it off. “Not when she’s trying feel better.” He smiled. “If Grace is trying to relax and heal or whatever she loves to listen to Jazz, blues and some soul music.” His smile softened. “Here, let me pull up the playlist we have.”

“Are you still mad at us?” Cisco asked

He shook his head. “No. I’m too worried about my girlfriend to b mad at you.” He exhaled heavily. “I can’t lose her.”

Caitlin put an arm around his back as he bent his head down. “And you won’t. She’s getting stronger, Carter. You just have to hang in there a little bit longer.”

There was a beeping sound from inside the tank and Cisco tapped a key. “Grace is waking up.”

Carter walked into the workout room and hugged her. “Baby.”

She sighed as she let him pull her into a hug. “Ooh. You’re warm.”

“Warm?”

She nodded. “Part of the after-effects of being in there is I feel cold for about an hour afterward.”

“I’ll get you a blanket.”

“Thank you.”

A few minutes later and she found herself being hugged by Joe. She laughed softly. “Hi, dad.”

He kissed her hair. “You had us pretty scared, Sweetheart.”

She hugged him tighter. “Sorry.”

Barry hugged her next. “Glad you’re okay, Kiddo.”

She hugged Cisco and Caitlin too. She wrapped herself in the blanket and shivered. “So, what did I miss?”

“Before we do that,” Carter said. He took her face in his hands and kissed her softly.

Grace moaned in surprise but went with the kiss. She sighed softly and smiled up at him. She kissed him again. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“You missed a lot,” Barry told her. “Iris knows. She’s disappointed in me. Concerned for you and angry with Joe.”

She sighed. “I told you guys to tell her. Why don’t you ever listen to me?”

Barry laughed. “Sorry.”

“I’m gonna head over and talk to her. You wanna come with me?”

She nodded. “Let me do a couple of things and then we’ll go.”

“What are you gonna do?” Joe asked.

She moved away from them and tossed the blanket to her brother. She then ignited herself on fire and they all gasped, while Barry just stood there. When she let out the fire she was dry and when Carter kissed her again, her skin and lips were warm.

“She warmed herself up.”

Barry shook his head. “No, she didn’t. She regulated her usual body temperature.”

“Let me go get dressed.”

* * *

Joe and Grace walked into CCPN together, Grace coming in first. “I heard you talked to Barry,” Joe said.

Iris looked up and saw Grace walking in. “Gracie!”

Grace laughed softly as Iris hugged her. “Hey, Sis.”

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I am now.”

“Good.” Iris walked back to her desk and sat.

“So this is what my cold shoulder treatment feels like. Look... baby, the way I went about things, maybe... No. I was wrong. I was just trying to keep you safe.”

“You know, that excuse is getting really old.”

“That’s what I said,” Grace said, giving Joe the tell-tale eye.

“First it was the police academy, and then it was dating Eddie, and now this.”

“Sweetheart, you know what The Man in Yellow is capable of. He killed cops. He killed Mason Bridge.”

“Wells killed Mason? And you're covering that up?”

“No. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. If the world finds out about Wells, they find out about Barry and Grace. I'm trying to keep them safe too.”

“Did you ever stop to think that looping me in would keep me safe?”

“Because I couldn’t. That if I knew what was going on out there, I could prepare for it? Maybe I could've helped you and Barry put the bad guys away instead of being in the way.”

“I did.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“Look, Iris, I don’t have a good enough answer for that.”

He exhaled, chuckling softly. “Yeah, that’s what your sister said. Believe me, I asked myself that question every single day. Every time you posted something new about The Flash on your blog…”

“Dad, it's not just about Barry being The Flash. You knew how he felt about me for God knows how long, and you didn't tell me that either.”

“That wasn't for me to tell, Iris.”

“Dad’s right. We couldn’t tell you.”

“Well, you know what, if any of you had been honest with me, maybe Eddie would still be here. He wouldn't have gotten involved in all of this if I hadn't been dating him.”

“Are you saying if you had known how Barry felt…”

“What I am saying is that what happened to Eddie is your fault.”

“Nuh-huh,” Grace said standing from sitting on the edge of Iris’ desk. “Do not even go there.” She walked back toward dad and said to Iris. “Look, I get it. You feel guilty for Eddie getting involved in this whole thing because if he hadn’t been then he wouldn’t have been taken, but you know what? That’s no one’s fault.”

“Grace, it’s my association with Bar--”

“No it’s not!” Grace all but yelled. “Wells took Eddie for a whole other reason we’re not entirely sure about yet, but it’s not because of you.” She sighed. “Trust me I know. And it wasn’t my place to tell you about my brother’s feelings for you. You never told me about Carter’s.”

“Well, that’s because I…” she sighed. “You’re right.”

Grace pulled a chair up to sit in front of her sister. “Okay, full disclosure. I’m giving you what we know so far, okay?”

She nodded. Joe looked at Grace, “Gracie--”

“Dad, I love you more than anything in the world, but it’s not going to hurt to tell her now.” She looked into her dark eyes. “The thing is, for some reason Wells is fixated on Eddie and there was probably nothing either of us could have done to prevent him from taking him. Probably has something to do with what we found out.”

“What did you find out?”

Grace sighed. “From the beginning dad didn’t feel right about giving us over to the man who caused the the explosion that put us there. And then I wake up first. I figured out I had these powers and they helped me up to a certain point--probably gaining my trust, but as soon as Barry woke up I was invisible. It was all about him. Which got me suspicious. Why was he so fixated on my brother? Making him faster, all of it.”

She nodded, listening intently.

“Then dad’s detective brain started going and we started talking. Dad decided to reopen mom’s murder. There was blood on the wall of the living room where mom died.”

“Oh, my God…did you have Barry run the tests?”

“Cisco did,” she said. “But he wouldn’t run it against Wells. Still believing Wells was a good man. So he ran it against all of us.” He looked at Joe. “Pillow talk was fun that night.”

He laughed. “Sorry.”

She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.” She looked at Iris. “Anyway, “Um…I wasn’t a match. Barry and I have a different type of blood. If I remember correctly I have dad’s, he has mom’s.” She sighed. “I’m rambling. Anyway, it was found to be Barry’s blood. Not young Barry, but adult Barry.”

“How?”

“Barry hasn’t completely figured it out, but like in Back to the Future, if he gets up to the right speed he can “run” through time. Apparently that’s what he did.” She took another deep breath, her hands shaking.

“It’s okay, Gracie,” Joe whispered.

She looked at Iris. “I want you to know this, but it’s hard.”

“Just try. And if anything I could probably fill in the blanks.”

She nodded. “That brings us to what we recently figured out. Doctor Harrison Wells died fifteen years ago when a mysterious man approached him and killed him to assume his identity.”

“Wait, what?”

She nodded. “It’s true. Turns out the man my brother idolized for as long as I can remember isn't even Harrison Wells but some asshole relative of Eddie’s from the future--”

“Wells, or whoever he is, is a relative of Eddie’s?”

She nodded. “Yep. Who--and to use Carter’s word here--has one serious hard-on for Barry. We’re talking huge. He’s seriously pissed at Barry for reasons we’re not entirely sure about. What we do know is according to him Barry and I have gone up against him enough that apparently he knows us.” She sighed. “He took on a man's legacy, lived his life. We’re not entirely sure why he did it. What we do know is he needs to be stopped especially if we want Daddy to finally free.”

“And we will sweetheart. Wells may be fast but he's just one man.” Joe’s phone began to vibrate with a phone call. “This is work. We can finish this talk.”

Grace looked at her own phone. “Oh! Gotta go. Barry needs me.” She turned to Iris as she was walking out. “If you stop being angry and disappointed long enough to come by STAR Labs maybe you can help us.”

* * *

Barry rushed down the corridor of STAR Labs. “I just got a call from Joe. The Central City Gold Reserve is about to transport $300 million in gold bars to their Coast City vault.”

“Hey, what’s going on?” Grace asked coming down the hall.

Barry filled her in with what he just said and then continued, “Singh told Joe they think the Man in the Mask is gonna make a play for it.”

“Okay, but we still don't know if he's responsible for those weird images you saw.”

“How are they transporting the gold?”

“By ice cream truck, Carter said coming into the room from another room. “Sweetheart, your suit’s all set.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“I dried out your suit and recharged the vital scanner in your emblem. Repaired the camera too.”

She smiled and kissed him soundly on the mouth. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I love you.”

“I love you.”

“Be careful.”

She smiled. “I promise.”

* * *

As they ran and flew to get to Joe, Cisco and Carter were keeping them updated on the situation. When they heard that the ice cream truck had been hit by a landmine, but that they didn’t know if Joe was okay, Barry looked up at Grace. “Go. Recon ahead.”

She nodded. She flew off and got to the scene. She tapped her ear. “Okay, B, the Man in the Mask is here. He’s walking toward the officers.” She started diving. “Gotta go.” She landed and threw her hands up. The bullets started bouncing of nothing and falling to the ground. Joe shot one and Grace let it get through and it struck the mystery guy in the shoulder.

Just then Flash came in and slammed hard into him. He rolled off the truck and landed on the ground. Grace rushed to him. “So is this guy,” Barry said.

“Let's see what Goldfinger has to say for himself,” Joe said.

Grace pulled the mask off. “Oh, my God…”

“General Eiling?” Barry questioned, confused.

Everyone stood in the pipeline just staring in shock and dismay at what Eiling looked like now.

“What is wrong with him?”

“I pulled a bullet out of his shoulder,” Caitlin reported.

“Which should hurt like hell,” Joe added.

“And it didn't even seem like he felt it,” Caitlin said. “I did a complete body scan, and otherwise, General Eiling is perfectly healthy.”

“So why is he just standing there like a robot?”

“It’s like he mentally snapped,” Grace said. “Like his mind is being overworked or something.”

Cisco walked into the pipeline. “I just got off the phone with ARGUS. Officially, Eiling is on administrative leave.”

“Which is code for we ain’t telling you nothing,” Carter translated.

“Unofficially?” Joe asked a little cautiously.

“I spoke with Diggle's wife, Lyla, and she said Eiling's been missing for the past three months and ARGUS is covering up for it.”

“Nice,” Carter muttered.

“Makes sense. Last time I saw the General was when Grace, Ronnie and I broke Professor Stein out of that military facility. I'm sure they're covering that up too.”

“Of course they are,” Grace said. “They always cover up things they know we civilians would object to.”

“So where has he been since then?” Joe asked.

They all shrugged.

Joe tried another question, this one directed toward General Eiling. “General Eiling, why were you trying to rob the gold reserve?”

There was no answer or even a reaction.

“Maybe he's in some kind of a trance?”

“General, do you remember me?” Barry asked.

“Flash,” Eiling answered gruffly.

“Do you remember me?”

“Gaia,” he said just as gruffly.

Joe looked at his kids and asked, “Whoa, how does he know you?”

“I don't know.”

“General... Eiling not here. Eiling bad.”

“Maybe it's some kind of psychotic break presenting itself as dissociative identity disorder,” Caitlin diagnosed.

“Caitlin. Caitlin good.”

Everyone was shocked.

“Oh, uh, thank you?”

“Mm. Forget multiple personalities. You guys have seen The Exorcist, right?”

Carter looked at his friend. “Seriously?”

Joe looked at him. “You and your movies. Keep talking to him. He seems to respond to you.”

“Uh, why is Eiling bad?”

“Eiling hurt me. I hurt Eiling.”

“Okay, uh, so if you're not Eiling, then who are you?”

“I... Am... Grodd. Fear... me.”

Carter looked at everyone. “What the hell is a Grodd?”

“Come on. There’s something we have to show you.”

* * *

They showed them the video of them recording Grodd in the cage and Caitlin with him. “Oh…Grodd is a gorilla.”

“Oh, God…” Grace muttered.

Carter smiled and held her around the waist as they watched the video together. “It’s okay, Baby.”

“Five years ago, Eiling and Wells were working on a project to expand soldiers' cognitive abilities during battle.”

“What we didn't realize is that Eiling was trying to create soldiers with psychic abilities,” Caitlin continued.

“What do you mean "psychic"?” Joe asked.

“Eiling was trying to create these super-soldiers with telepathic and telekinetic capabilities.”

“But when Dr. Wells found out about the terrible experiments that Eiling was doing, he shut down the entire project.”

“So our psycho-killer has a soft spot for animals. That's sweet.”

“Well, we could do a momentary aww, but I’d much rather not.”

“What happened to Grodd?” Barry and Grace asked in unison.

“We don't know. After the Particle Accelerator exploded, I went down to check on him, and his cage was empty.”

“So he could have been affected by the same energy that hit Barry and Grace?”

“When the dark matter hit Grodd, all the drugs and serums that Eiling injected him with could've activated. Maybe the Accelerator explosion created a meta-gorilla. And I think we know what happens when a super-intelligent ape who's pissed off at humans escapes captivity,” Cisco said getting more and more excited with each word.

“Cisco's right about the first part,” Caitlin said, but waved off the rest. “This is the first brain scan that I did on Grodd.”

She popped up the scan onto the big screen. “Holy…” Grace’s words trailed off as she looked at it. “…damn.”

“Whoa. His primary motor cortex and Broca's area are lit up like a Christmas tree.”

“From Eiling's experiments. And this is the brain scan that I just did on Eiling. His brain is lit up in the exact same way.”

“So Grodd and Eiling are connected somehow?”

“I think that somehow, Grodd is transmitting neural signals to Eiling's primary motor cortex. Mind control, telepathy... who knows what Grodd is capable of now?”

“Actually you may be right,” Grace said. She took a breath. “It’s been a while since I looked at a scan for psychological anything, but…” she walked to the screen. “Do you see this here?”

They nodded. She continued, “This part of the brain is what makes us susceptible to suggestion or mind control.”

“Really?” Joe asked.

She nodded. “Yeah. Really.”

“Why didn’t you ever become a psychologist or a neurologist?” Joe asked.

“Because as much as I LOVE science and building things, I was too busy trying to pretend to be someone I wasn’t. My photography was my escape from that, my cover. I just never expected to love it almost as much.”

“Who were you trying to be?”

“The Homecoming Queen,” she admitted to her ex. She nodded. “It’s true. I was pretending to be just like every other “smart” girl around. I had spent my entire childhood being the freak with the killer for a father that I wanted to fit in. I thought the best way to do that was act like the other girls in school.” Grace smiled. “But don’t worry. She’s slowly coming back.”

Carter smiled. He took her face gently in his hands and kissed her. “Thank God for that.”

“What do we think Grodd wants? Revenge?”

“I do not like the fact that Wells rescued Grodd.”

“Me neither,” Carter agreed.

“I don't think it's a coincidence that this gorilla shows up at the very same time we're looking for Wells.”

“Grodd and Wells always did have a special bond.”

“And probably for calculated reasons,” Grace said. She saw everyone’s confused looks. “He’s calculated every move up to this point.”

“Grace is right. It wouldn't surprise me if Wells was using Grodd to distract us. If we find Grodd, we find Wells. If we find Wells--”

“We find Eddie.”

They all looked to see Iris standing in the Cortex doorway. Grace smiled.

“And I'm gonna help.”

Caitlin looked at her. “Do you know anything about gorillas?”

“I just might,” Iris said with a small smile. “But let Grace say what she knows about them first.”

“What makes you think I know anything?”

“Because I have known you for fifteen years. Technically there isn’t a subject you don’t know something about.”

Carter chuckled. “She’s got you there, Babe.”

“Okay. Well, judging by the video. He’s a Silverback gorilla, right?”

They nodded. She smiled. “Most of the Silverbacks are in the rainforests of Central Africa.”

Intrigued, Cisco asked, “Which means what exactly?”

“Which means…he’s a herbivore. He doesn’t eat meat. Most gorillas are not aggressive unless provoked. However, judging by Eiling I’d say he’s going to be aggressive.”

“Which is where I come in,” Iris said sitting down. She pulled up information. “There have been reports of some sort of animal down in the sewers.”

“Mm. Alligators. C.H.U.D.S. R.O.U.S'es?”

“Am I the only one who watches movies around here?”

They looked at Grace. She shook her head. “No, don’t ask. I would much rather go blind than watch those movies again.”

“Hey! There was nothing wrong with them!”

“Cisco, it’s six hours of my life I will never get back. **_**Ever**_**.”

“Well, it’s better than that one movie you made watch.”

“What one?”

“Hey, there is nothing wrong with Pretty in Pink.”

“Oh! I love that movie!” Iris smiled and laughed. “Uh, a few months ago, two sewer workers went missing. The search party reported hearing strange animal-like noises down in the tunnels.”

“Where exactly did they go missing?”

“Uh, Fifth Avenue and Tenth Street.”

“There's an access point to the sewers about two blocks east of that intersection.”

“I'll start there,” Barry said.

“Not alone. I'm coming too.”

“Me too,” Carter said.

“Huh, wading through miles of rats, roaches, and human excrement... count me out.” He saw the expression on the other’s faces. “Count me in.”

Grace turned to Carter and kissed. “Don’t get dead.”

“I will try my best.”

* * *

They stood around a computer and watched from Cisco’s camera. They walked the sewers while the girls watched from the lab. They watched everything from the cam. They even watched them getting attacked. Grodd tossed Barry and Carter.

“BARRY! CARTER!” Grace yelled.

“They’re out cold.”

What ended it was Joe being taken. “DAD!” Iris and Grace said in unison.

* * *

Grace listened to the emotional conversation between her brother and sister while Carter stayed with Cisco and Caitlin to figure something out. She watched Barry walk away and Grace walked to her. “You know he has a point.”

“What?”

“Maybe you not only need to be honest with him but you need to be honest with yourself too.”

“What are you talking about?”

“For fifteen years I have watched you two dance around each other like some kind of weird Viennese waltz. Why don’t you just admit it to yourself that you have feelings for Barry too?”

“Because I’m with Eddie.”

“And I was with Cisco, Iris, but I finally had to realize that the love that I wanted someone to feel for me, that I wanted to feel for them was right in front of me this whole time. I was searching for something I already had. All I had to do was be honest with myself to get it.”

“You broke up with Cisco--”

“I broke up with Cisco because he lied to me about something that could have killed my brother. I broke up with Cisco because he wouldn’t open up to me about anything.” She sighed. “But you know, ultimately we would have broken up anyway because I love Carter. I always have.”

“Do you really think it’s going to be fair to either of you for you to stick it out with Eddie?”

“I love Eddie!”

“I know you do! But do you love him like you’ve always said you wanted to love someone too, Iris?” She looked at her sister. “I love you. You’re my sister no matter what. But you have to start following your own heart and stop sticking to something because you made a commitment to if your heart’s not in it.” She stopped her. “And don’t stand there and tell me that your heart is completely in your relationship with Eddie, because who’d be the liar now, Iris?”

She turned and walked away. She walked into the cortex. “Anything?”

“Gracie, I need your brain.”

Grace smiled. “Use me, Doc.”

Carter smirked. “Okay. There’s a few ways I could go with that, but I’m going to stay focused.”

She laughed. “Good idea. What’s your problem?”

“Is there a way to block that part of the brain from Grodd’s ability?”

“Without knowing how strong his mental manipulation is….um, I don’t know.”

“But is there a way to shut it off?” Barry asked.

“Yeah,” Grace said. She walked over to where Cisco and Caitlin were. “Please get up.”

“What?” Cisco asked.

“Get up, please,” she said more firmly.

“Grace, breathe, Kiddo.”

She took a couple of deep breaths. She felt her chin quiver and looked at her brother as her eyes filled. “Nope,” she broke. “Didn’t work.”

Carter walked over to her and wrapped her in his arms. He soothed her and after a good cry for a few minutes, Grace wiped her tears, kissed Carter thank you and got to work. “We need to make a psychic blocker. A helmet-esque psychic blocker. If we can make it to where the blocker sits on the part of the brain that is vulnerable to psychic persuasion then I think we could get dad back.”

* * *

Hours later, they had it online and Grace sighed. She looked at her brother. “Do you trust me?”

“Without question.”

“Good because this isn’t tested so I’m not one-hundred percent sure it’ll work.”

He smiled and kissed her forehead. “I trust in your brain, Kiddo. It’s time you do too.”

She nodded. “Be careful. I’d go with you, but we didn’t have time to make two of those.”

He nodded. She looked at him, going around to a computer where Carter sat and sat on his lap. “But I’ll be monitoring the entire thing from here.”

He nodded. “Okay.” He left and showed up to Grodd’s location.

The steam's working. Grodd's on the move.”

“I don't understand. What is the plan?”

“He's maneuvering Grodd into a tunnel 5.3 miles from Barry.”

“So Barry can do what?”

“Same thing he did to Girder.”

“Supersonic punch, baby. Hit it!”

Barry ran and attempted his punch, but it didn’t work. “The supersonic punch failed.”

They can hear Barry in distress and Grace sighed. “Shit.” Her eyes began welling up with tears again as she became afraid for her brother.

“Barry's brain activity is off the charts. It's way worse than last time.”

“What's happening to him?”

“Grodd's attacking him psychically. He's paralyzed.”

“Come on. There's a service train coming.”

“Do something please!” Iris pleaded.

“I can't stop the train. Barry, you have to get out of there now.”

Grace looked at her sister. “Iris you have to try.” She faced her. “Look, I know you’re whatever, but you know how he feels about you. Yeah, sure he kept this all from you, but he did it because he loves you and wanted to keep you safe. But now, he needs to hear the voice of the one he loves the most.”

“What do you mean?”

“How do you think I healed so quickly?” She said. “With my internal injuries I should have been out of that tank within seventy-two hours, not thirty-six.” She looked over at Carter, then back at Iris. “Hearing Carter talk to me helped me through it. He needs you. Please?”

She walked to the intercom and pressed the button. “Barry, listen to me, okay? You have to concentrate on my voice. Whatever is happening to you, you have to fight it. I know you can do this. I know how strong you are. Stand up to Grodd. You can do this. Please. Barry, do it for me."

* * *

After they got Joe back and on the mend, Grace was emotionally exhausted. She looked at Carter. “Take me home.”

He nodded. “Let’s go.” They said goodnight and walked out. She took his hand as they walked. “Am I taking you to Joe’s?”

She shook her head. “No. Take me home…” she looked into his green eyes. “With you.”

He nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

He drove them to his place and they got out of the car. They walked into the condo building and took the elevator to their floor. They walked out and walked into the condo. Grace pulled her boots off and groaned. She turned to face him. “Will you do me a favor?”

“Anything. All you have to do is ask.”

“Hold me tonight,” she said. “I just…I need…”

He lifted her into his arms, bridal style and carried her upstairs to his room. He sat her on her feet and walked over to his dresser and grabbed one of his long t-shirts. He handed it to her. “Let’s get ready for bed and then I will hold you all night along, I promise.”

About 10 minutes later, they both climbed into the soft king-sized bed and got comfortable. As promised, Carter turned out the light and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed all down the side of her face, placing opened mouth kisses along her neck and shoulder. “Good night, Baby. I love you.”

“Good night, Sweetheart. I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEXT CHAPTER TO BE POSTED NEXT SATURDAY


	29. Rogue Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Flash quickly discovers the length that Reverse Flash will go. Barry trusts the wrong person to help them.
> 
> And Carter and Grace make their relationship more solid.

“Hey, Cisco, I’m heading out…” her words died as Grace saw her friend staring off into nowhere while sitting in Wells’ wheelchair. She turned and walked toward him. “Hon?”

He stared off until she touched his knee. He smiled. “Hey.”

“Hi,” she said softly. “You okay?”

He nodded. “I’m just running everything in mind. How we could have been so blind and everything. If we had caught on sooner then maybe…”

“Oh, Cisco, honey, you can’t beat yourself up over this. It’s not your fault. You wouldn’t have known unless you knew what to look for, hon.”

He exhaled. “I know.” He rubbed his forehead. “Where are you off to? Date with Carter?”

She shook her head. “No. Not a date. We’re gonna watch Netflix. There’s a movie he’s been waiting to see until we could watch it together considering we both liked the first one.”

“Cool,” he smiled. “Gracie, you know that it’s okay to…”

She nodded. “I know and we’re getting there,” she said. “We just don’t want to rush it, you know?”

He nodded. “Right. The transition between best friends and lovers.”

She smiled. “Exactly.” She kissed his forehead. “Don’t stay here too late. You need to sleep too.”

“I won’t. I promise.” 

“Bye.”

* * *

Grace unrolled the copied blueprints to STAR Labs onto the dining table in Carter’s loft, which were next to the enlarged map of Central City. She studied them. She took a red marker and crossed off the location of the time vault. She crossed it off. She walked to the City map and crossed off the spots where they’ve looked there too. After she marked off the locations where they looked first she went to work on the new locations to look. She picked up the green marker and circled the spots where they needed to look.

The scuffing sound of feet coming toward her had her looking up. She smiled at a sleep disheveled Carter. She smiled. She’d been spending the last couple of nights here with him. They hadn’t slept together yet, but not because neither didn’t want to, actually quite the opposite. They have been having major makeout sessions though and those were a lot of fun. She tilted her head up and murmured as his lips came down on hers, “Good morning, Baby.”

“Morning, Baby,” he murmured groggily. “Did you sleep at all?” he asked over his shoulder as he went to get some coffee. 

She nodded. “I got up about an hour ago,” she replied. 

“Good,” he said as he turned and walked back to her. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to come up with where Thawne could be keeping Eddie,” she said. “I figured if we had the blueprints to the Lab and the City map, maybe we could come up with an idea.”

He smiled. “Good idea, baby.”

She shrugged. “I have them sometimes.”

He chuckled. “So, what do you got so far?”

“Well, the red is where we’ve already looked or where we know he wouldn’t have hid him. The blue are public places and that’d just be stupid.” She looked up at him. “And the green are possibilities.”

He smirked into his coffee. “Very organized, Babe.”

She heard the teasing lilt in his voice and she shoved him lightly. “Shut up.”

He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist. He bent his head down and gave her a mind-blowing ‘good morning’ kiss. He slowly pulled back, lingering over it. “Good morning.”

She blinked, a little surprised by it. “Good morning. Wow…”

He smiled and kissed her again. “You’re welcome. I’m gonna get in the shower.”

“Okay,” she murmured. “Don’t take up all the water. I need one too.”

* * *

She got out of the shower herself, got dressed in a beautiful pink floral midi-dress, makeup had been lightly applied, hair dried and she was looking at her reflection in the mirror. “Hey, CJ, baby?”

“Yeah?” Carter said coming into the bathroom buttoning his shirt.

“What do you think if I cut my hair to shoulder length before our vacation?”

He nodded. “That’d look great, but baby, it’s not my hair. It’s yours. It’s your decision.” He kissed the curve between her shoulder and her neck. “I’m still going to love you either way.”

She smiled and leaned his arms as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He kissed her hair. “How about if you cut it above your shoulders then by the time we come home from our vacation it’ll be at the length you want it to be?”

She looked at herself in the mirror and waited for him to drop his arm before she took the sides of her hair and put it about above her shoulders. “Ooh. That might work.”

He smiled and kissed her hair. He walked back into the bedroom. “Baby, your phone’s going off.”

“Who is it?”

“Cisco,” he said. 

“What’s he say?” she asked as she began twisting her hair into a messy French twist.

“Get to the Lab...ASAP.”

She finished off her hair and walked into the bedroom. She walked over to get her pink high-heeled sandals. She put them on and buckled the ankle strap. She straightened the dress and looked at Carter. “What do you think?”

“You look beautiful, Sweetheart.” He kissed her lips and they were out the door.

* * *

They got to the lab and Grace looked at him. “What’s going on?”

Cisco turned and his mouth fell open. “Whoa.”

Joe and Barry both turned and Joe smiled. “I missed those dresses.”

Cisco stared. “You look amazing.”

She laughed. “Thank you. I went with Iris to get some new outfits.”

“Why the change in wardrobe?” Caitlin asked.

Joe smiled. “She’s not really changing she’s going back to the way she used to dress.” He smiled. “Her and Josh were together for five years?”

“Four and a half,” she clarified.

“Right,” he said. “Not to mention pretending not to be the smartest woman in the room most of the time. She went from dressing like this to dressing the way you saw her when you first met.”

“I did everything I could not show off my mind, so I showed off my body,” she explained. “At least that’s what my therapist says.”

“Your therapist?” Cisco asked.

She nodded. “I started seeing her again after we broke up. Dad got her for me and Barry when everything went down fifteen years ago. One of the things she told me was to embrace my old self again. Start with the wardrobe and hair and go from there. So...Iris, despite the circumstances, went out with me to buy some new clothes. Clothes I used to wear.” Grace smiled. “Anyway, what did you want to see us for?”

“Right,” he said. “I kept asking myself, why would Wells pretend to need a wheelchair?”

“Sympathy, I suppose,” Caitlin suggested. 

“That's what I thought at first, but he's the Man in Yellow. He's the Reverse-Flash. He's much smarter than that. Sympathy can't be the only reason.” 

“Yeah,” Joe said. “It was a misdirect. Just like everything else Wells has done. I mean, the last person we'd suspect to be the Man in Yellow is someone who lost the use of their legs.”

Cisco smiled. “That's exactly right, Joe. Which is why I started messing around with the wheelchair. And that's when I found this.” He pulled off a side panel and everyone saw the design of the power unit. 

“Damn. You can't get that at Radio Shack,” Joe muttered. 

Barry bent forward and studied it just as Carter knelt down. “Looks like the tech inside Gideon.” He looked up at Grace. “Right, Gracie?”

She looked at the design and nodded. She froze as her mind started working. The unit was located where the power unit would normally be. Which meant…?

“I measured the output, and this thing is kicking off serious juice. I mean, we're talking enough to power all of Central City.”

“Seriously?” 

“Oh, yeah.”

“What do you think Wells was using it for?”

“To recharge himself,” she said distantly.

“What?” Joe asked.

She stood. Her mind spun with everything that had been happening. She ran her hands over her hair. “It all makes perfect sense.”

Caitlin looked from Carter to Barry to Joe with confusion. “What’s going on?”

“She’s putting something together,” Barry told her. “Gracie, what makes sense?”

She turned. “This may have been about revenge for him, but there was something bigger. A much bigger reason for him to need Barry to become the Flash.”

“Okay…” Cisco asked.

“The night he killed mom you and he were fighting,” she said. “What if after he killed mom he ran out of juice?”

It clicked in Carter’s head. “Oh, shit…” he looked at Barry. “That would explain everything. The reason why he never helped Grace figure out the enormity of her powers is because he could give two shits about her--no offense, Baby.”

“None taken,” she said. She looked at Barry and then walked over to the chair. She pointed at the unit. “This is a futuristic battery. He’s been sitting here for the last year hoping that it’s the right amount of juice to get him back to his time.” She looked at her brother. “But if not…” she walked to him. “...then there was you. If you got to your top speed, or at least to top off his own then he’d take your speed and go home...and there wouldn’t be anything we could do about it.”

The alarm to alert them of something happening inside the Lab began going off. Cisco and Caitlin went to check it out. He stared at the computer confused. “The accelerator, it's been reactivated.”

“It can't be.” 

“How is that possible? It blew up,” Joe reminded them. 

“It had to have been rebuilt.” 

“Wells,” Barry and Carter said in unison. 

“Even if he did rebuild it, how did Dr. Wells turn the Particle Accelerator on?”

The Allen siblings looked at each other, their blue eyes wide. “He's here!” they said in unison. 

“That's why we couldn't find him. He's been inside S.T.A.R. Labs the whole time,” Barry told them. 

“Stay here,” Cisco told Caitlin.

Grace unhooked her heels and pulled them off. She looked at Carter. “I know with your abilities you could probably protect yourself but stay here. If Wells gets past us then I need you to protect Caitlin.”

He nodded and kissed her. “I promise. Be careful.”

“Promise,” she said. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Joe looked at his daughter as they walked through the corridor. “You’re seriously going to walk through their barefoot?”

She nodded. “I’ll be okay, dad, but I don’t think heels are going to go well with the structure of this thing. Especially after the explosion.”

Joe saw the orange soda in Cisco’s hand. “Cisco, what did you bring in that orange soda for?” 

“Whenever something happens with the Reverse-Flash, liquid floats in the air. You know, Barry's fish tank, Wells's champagne, Lance's coffee, remember that? If this does the same thing, we'll know that Wells is in there.” 

“Good thinking,” Grace said to him.

“Do it,” Barry told him once they got to the entrance to the meta jail.

Cisco took a deep breath and then opened the door. Seconds later he and Grace saw the liquid float into the air. “Oh, God...guys…”

Before they could see what it was, Wells moving at superspeed pushed Barry and Joe out of his way. Barry went after him. Grace was about to follow when she heard, “ _Prisoner release. Protocol initiated_ ,” the computerized voice said. 

Grace moved into the jail just in case others would be released. While Peek-A-Boo found Caitlin. Grace tapped her earpiece. “Carter, I know you can hear me. Um...Cait’s gonna need your help. Peek-A-Boo can’t teleport if she can’t see.”

“Good to know,” he said. Without knowing what else to do, he texted Iris. “But I gotta figure out how to shut the accelerator off.” 

Grace stayed in the jail and kept her eyes on the other prisoners.

* * *

Carter turned the dial and the doors opened. Grace went into his arms. She sighed. She saw Iris and then a knocked out Peek-A-Boo. She smiled at her sister. “Let me guess, you?”

She shrugged. They put her back into the pipeline and Cisco looked at Caitlin. “Are you okay?”

She smiled. “Yeah, I will be. Thanks to Iris.” She rubbed her neck. “I'm glad you showed up.” 

Iris looked at everyone else. “How do you think she got out of there?” 

“Wells must have released her.”

“It’s the ultimate distraction,” Carter said. “And the one thing we know about Wells is he’s good at distractions.”

“Help.” 

“Wait a sec.” 

“Shh…” Grace murmured.

Joe looked at his adoptive daughter. “Did you hear that?”

She nodded. 

Caitlin immediately said, “I checked all the containment cells. Everyone's accounted for.” 

“Help! Down here!”

Grace’s eyes immediately went to Joe’s. Barefoot and all she pressed a finger to her lips and went around the corner. She closed her eyes and Caitlin leaned into Barry. “What’s she doing?”

“Listening to the air vibrations.”

Carter looked at her. “She has enhanced hearing if she can listen to the vibrations.”

She took Joe by the wrist and they headed out of the room. She stopped as Iris caught up to them. She listened for a direction. She pointed in the direction they needed to go. She grabbed her dad’s hand and pulled him behind her as she walked ahead of them. She lit both of her hands on fire and Iris gasped. “Dad!”

Joe nodded. “I know. She can even catch herself on fire, Sweetheart.”

Grace found a manhole cover and knelt down. She pressed her hands to the lid and closed her eyes. She opened them as the lid began to lift up. Joe grabbed it and she let her hands fall. She looked down the hole and then at her dress. “Oh, well…” she said and fell into the hole. 

“Grace!” Iris yelled.

Grace floated down and looked up. “Dad, it’s clear.”

He went down first and then Iris. They found Eddie still strapped to a chair and Joe cut him loose. They got him back up in the lab.

* * *

Not long after they got Eddie up to the medbay, did he and Iris leave to go home. Carter also left to go have lunch with his parents. He made them promise to keep him updated. They promised and he left after kissing Grace goodbye. She sighed and pushed against the computer desk. She groaned.

The computer beeped another warning. Cisco quickly ran out of the Cortex. “What now?” Barry asked. 

Grace walked around. She tapped the microphone. “Cisco?”

A little box popped up and she clicked on it. When it opened they saw Cisco there in the pipeline. He pointed at a futuristic like tube. “Um, are you seeing this?”

“What is that?” 

“That's the tube Eddie was talking about. It's some sort of future power source. That's what's charging up the accelerator.”

“Can you shut it down?” 

“Do you see a power button anywhere on this thing? Dude, this thing is from the future. It's beyond me. I press, or touch, or cut the wrong thing, I could bring the whole building down. Maybe if Carter was here he could...I don’t know...sense what to do.”

“Okay. How long until it's fully functional?” 

“Best I can tell, 36 hours.” 

“He has a deadline,” Grace told him.

He nodded. “That's when Wells will be back.”

“Why would Wells want the Particle Accelerator to work again?” 

“I don't know. It's not like it was such a big success the first time. It made me The Flash.”

“That's not all it did.” 

Grace froze as if a lightbulb went off. “Actually…”

“What?” Barry and Joe said in unison. 

“Barry, think about it. If he has to have the speed to get back to his time and he needs your speed...where is the best place for him to trick you into using your speed so he can take it? That you could run that fast?”

“No way,” Cisco muttered.

Barry’s mind clicked with the information. “So the particle accelerator wasn't just his means of creating the flash.”

She shook her. “Nope. It's basically a time machine shaped into a racetrack for you to run, Bar.”

Barry smiled and kissed her head. “Don’t leave that brain ever again, Kiddo.”

She laughed. “Cisco, get your butt back up here.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Cisco got back up to the Cortex. The 4 of them began talking. “So what happens if the Particle Accelerator turns on while the meta-humans are in their containment cells?” 

“They're toast.” 

“We put them down there and now their lives are in danger because of us.” 

“Look, I think you all know I've never been a fan of this arrangement here. I thought the whole plan was to rehabilitate them and set them free.” 

“That’s what I thought too,” Grace said as she texted Carter with an update. 

“It was. We've been a little busy.” 

“Well, if they stay in there, they die. And if we let them go, they destroy the city.” 

“He’s right,” Grace said, putting her phone in her purse. “If Shawna’s any indication about their anger I don’t think it’d be wise to let them roam in the City.”

“We're gonna have to move them.” 

“Move them where? Iron Heights can't handle meta-humans.”

“And besides I don’t know if I’d feel confident with daddy still in there.” 

“You're right,” Barry agreed. “Both of you, but Lian Yu can.” 

“What the hell's a “Lian Yu?”” 

“It’s the island Oliver was on for five years,” Grace told him.

“A.R.G.U.S built a covert military prison on it.”

“It's where we sent Captain Boomerang,” Cisco added. 

“Oliver keeps his worst criminals there. They won't be able to escape, and more importantly, they won't be able to hurt anybody.” 

“Great. So we ship them from one illegal black site to another?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Yes.”

“Dad, we don’t have any other choice.” 

“And how do we move them to Oliver's own private Alcatraz?” 

Carter walked into the Cortex and greeted everyone. He kissed Grace’s cheek and listened. 

“I'll call him. Maybe he can help with transport,” Barry said. 

Grace looked at her brother. “Cisco, Carter and I can build a containment space for a few of them and something else for the others. Like putting Peek-A-Boo in a darkened container or something.”

“Good. Cisco, no one can get loose, okay?”

He nodded. “Right.”

The 3 of them left to get started.

* * *

Knowing they couldn’t use the cops and the DA wasn’t behind them either, Barry went to Carter. “I need your help.”

He stopped working on the container and looked at his friend. “What’s up?”

“Is there a way for you to do something to clear the path from here to Ferris for us?”

He thought about it for a moment. “I can use my hacking ability and hack into the lights and stuff, why?”

“Because we may need you to do that. Joe can’t use the police and the DA’s not behind us.”

“Of course not because they’d see this as human trafficking.”

He laughed. “I think something like that was mentioned.”

He nodded. “Don’t worry. As long as I don’t end up getting a virus or something then I think we’ll be fine.”

He laughed. “Okay. Good.” He sighed. “Now if you’ll excuse me I gotta go sell my soul to the devil.”

* * *

Grace stood on top of the almost finished container when her cell phone went off. She looked down at Cisco. “Hey, C, grab my phone please?”

“It’s your sister.”

She held out a hand in a gesture to tell him to toss it up. He did and she caught it one-handed. She answered, “Hey, Sis.”

“Hey. Can you talk? Or are you busy with Gaia stuff?”

“What’s up?”

“I need you to talk to Eddie for me, but first answer a question for me.”

“Okay.”

“How would Eddie have gotten a futuristic paper that tells him I marry Barry?”

“Who told him that?”

“Wells,” she said. 

Grace sighed. “Iris, honey, you can’t believe everything that Wells tells you or him.”

“Can you tell Eddie that for me?”

She looked down at Cisco and Carter. She jumped down and landed. “Yeah. Where is he?”

“The station.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll be right there.”

“Thanks, Gracie.”

“You’re welcome.” She sighed and looked at Cisco and Carter. “I’m going to hell.”

“For what?”

“Because she wants me to talk to Eddie about the futuristic paper that apparently Wells showed him that shows that Iris and Barry got married.” She walked over to Carter. She kissed him. “Love you.”

“Love you.”

* * *

Grace walked into the precinct. She looked around for Eddie and walked up to him. “Hey.”

He smiled. “Hey, Gracie.”

She smiled. “So, a little birdy told me you got a glimpse at the future.”

He nodded. “Iris doesn’t marry me.”

“Who says?” she asked. “Some stupid paper that some psychotic jackass showed you?”

“Well, yeah, it’s the future.”

She laughed softly. “Eddie, honey. The one thing that I’ve learned about doing what I’m doing as…” she looked around. “...Gaia is that just because you see something that **_could_ **happen doesn’t mean it will.”

His brow furrowed in confusion. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that just because your douchebag of a relative showed you a probability doesn’t mean it has to happen that way.” She smiled and knelt down in front of him. “Eddie, Iris loves you, with all her heart. I do know that if you were to ask her to marry you right here and now she’d say yes because she loves you. And at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters, right?”

He nodded. She smiled. “Good. So, ask her to marry you and stop thinking about something that could happen. Think about it as one of those Choose Your Own Adventure games. If you don’t ask her, then yeah, she’ll marry Barry, but if you do ask her, then she’ll marry you, have a life with you and you both will live happily ever after.” She smiled. “If I was you and I loved her as much as I think you do it’d be a no-brainer for me.”

He laughed. “Thanks, Gracie.”

Her phone rang and she looked at the Caller ID. “It’s my dad.” She smiled and kissed his cheek. “If you need to talk I’m here.”

He smiled. “Thank you.”

She walked out of the precinct answering her phone, “Hey, dad. What’s up?”

“Hey, Sweetheart. Where are you?”

“At the station talking to Eddie for Iris.”

“Okay, well your brother is about to do something really stupid.”

“What?”

“Asking Leonard Snart for his help, but first he has to delete the existence of the man first.”

“What?” She sighed. “All right. I’m on my way.”

* * *

By the time Grace got there, she was dressed in her suit and Team Flash was staring down the Snart Siblings. “Oh, boy...I’m too late.” She walked in and looked at her brother. “You’re really going to do this?”

“We don’t have a choice,” he told her. 

She scoffed. “Flash, we always have choices. What we choose to do with those choices well that’s up to us.”

She walked over next to Caitlin and stood with her. “Please tell me this is a joke,” Caitlin said. 

Lisa smirked at her brother and then said, “Oh, you were right, Lenny. She is very uptight.” 

“I am not uptight,” she said to her, but then saw the look on Barry and Grace’s face. “You can't call me uptight.” 

“Look, guys, we need their help if we're gonna pull this off. Why are you wearing you two wearing your masks? Snart already knows who you are.” 

“And I promised I wouldn't tell anyone. That includes my sister.” 

“Jerk.” 

“Trainwreck.” 

Gaia scoffed. “And people thought we were dysfunctional.”

He chuckled. Snart looked at Joe. “Don't look so surprised, Detective. I am a man of my word.” 

“Yeah, you better be. Or I'm gonna make sure you're on that damn plane, too.”

Grace looked at Carter. “Dr. Stephens, may I speak to you, please?”

“Absolutely, Gaia.”

Gaia walked out of the Cortex and down the corridor to another room. She waited for him to come into the room and then walked to him and kissed him senseless. “Not complaining, but what was that for?”

“I needed an outlet. I wanna scream or hit something and kissing you seemed to be the better outlet.”

He laughed. “I think we could do something better.”

She laughed. “Probably, but I’m not having sex with you for the first time here. We can wait until we get home.” She turned and headed for the door when she was pulled back toward Carter. She yelped as her body was plastered against his. “What?”

He didn’t say anything, but he did kiss her again. He pulled back and said, “You referred to the loft as “home”. You’ve never done that.”

She smiled and pulled her mask off. She kissed him again. “I love you.”

“I love you. Let’s go before your brother sells his soul to the devil himself.”

* * *

They get the Metas loaded into the freezer truck that they retro-fitted. The wheelchair’s power source and Carter’s abilities are making it practically impossible for any of the Metas to escape. Carter changed into a suit that Cisco promised would harness his powers. Carter looked at Gaia. “Gaia.”

“Yes.”

“ _Te amo, Mi Angele_ ,” he said to her in Latin.

She smiled and blew him a kiss. “ _Ego te amo_ ,” she repeated back in the same language.

Joe looked at Barry. “Was that Latin?”

He nodded. “They used to speak to each other all the time time in Latin.”

“Huh.”

“Matrix,” Flash called out.

Carter smirked and looked at him. “Yes?”

“You’re up. Make sure that they don’t get stopped by red lights.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Flash laughed. “Don’t do that. It’s too weird.”

* * *

When they got to the airfield, Matrix wasn’t feeling right. He came out of one of the powerlines and stumbled. He was there waiting for them when they pulled up. Grace landed on the ground and looked at him. He wasn’t looking right. “Are you okay?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Ferris Air? I thought this place got shut down.” 

“It did. One of their test pilots disappeared.” 

“So what's the plan?”

“I want to get this over with.” 

“It should be here any minute. Look, Joe, I know you don't agree with this…”

“Save it, Barr. I just want to get it done.” 

“Your A.R.G.U.S. friends aren't very prompt. Maybe that's why they've never been able to catch me.” 

Grace looked at Carter. Who was looking very pale and everything. “Look there it is!” 

They watched as it never landed, but crashed in a field. “What the hell?” Joe turned to Carter. “I thought you said everything--” 

Carter collapsed. Everything inside of her went ice cold. Grace gasped and fell to the ground with him. “CARTER! Baby, come on.” 

Captain Cold smirked at Grace. She pressed a couple fingers to his neck, felt a pulse and charged the egotistical asshole. “You sonofabitch!” He raised his gun and she tossed it out of his hands and punched him. She put a hand on his neck and pressed her knee into his chest. “What did you give him?!” 

He tempted to taunt her and she pushed more on his throat and his chest. “What did you give him?!” 

Lisa looked at her. “He said it was a virus. He put it on a skin graph on his hand.” 

“A what?” she pressed harder. “Did you give him a computer virus?” She stood up and stomped on his groin. “Bastard.” 

Cisco and Joe looked at her in shock. “Note to self, don’t piss you off.” 

She turned on him and said, “If he dies I will hunt you down and torture you myself, You Cold-Hearted Sonofabitch!” 

“Guys, guys, we have a problem. The damper's fluctuating. The rig's losing power. I don't know why.” 

“Wait, can you do something?” 

“I'm trying.” 

The metas began fighting back and Barry and Grace fought them with Joe’s help. After Snart let the other metas go, he walked over to Grace and said, “It’s a temporary virus. He’ll be okay.” 

She glared at him. “You better walk, Snart before I let my emotions take over and I cause a natural disaster.” 

He smirked. She screamed, “GO!”

He left with his sister and she kissed Carter’s forehead and his lips. “Baby, please...don’t…” 

Barry stumbled over to her. “Is he…?” 

She shook her head. “No. His pulse is faint. I feel it, but Barry…” her eyes spilled with tears. 

“Okay, Cisco,” Joe said. “Let’s load him up into the van.” 

Cisco nodded. Barry stopped him. “I got him.” 

“No, Barry, you--” 

“He’s my brother,” Barry said. “I’ll do it.” 

He lifted Carter into his arms and carried him to the van. Grace got in and Joe slid into the driver’s seat. Joe looked through the rearview mirror. “Gracie, honey, listen to me.” 

“What?” 

“Did Carter ever show you anything if this ever happened?” 

She halted, sniffled. “Yes! Back at the loft! Keep going to the Lab. I’ll meet up with you.” 

She flew out the back and went to the loft. 

********

She jumped into the air and landed at the lab just as Caitlin and Cisco were hooking him up to monitors. “I need one of those injector guns.” 

Caitlin nodded and got her one. She put the vial inside and set the right setting. She shot him once in the neck, opened his shirt, shot him in the chest and then used the rest of it for his leg. She sighed. “How long did he say we had before it became ineffective?” 

“Three hours,” she answered. “So we’re in the window. We just wait now.”

“For how long?” 

“He said it could be anywhere from an hour to twelve.” 

She looked at Caitlin. “Keep an eye on him and when he does wake up tell me. I’m going to go help my brother.” 

She nodded.

* * *

“Well, I heard your prison transfer didn't go so well. I'm so sorry.” 

“All a part of your plan, I assume?” Barry asked.

“Actually, that didn't factor into my plan at all, but I'm impressed you went to such great lengths to keep those people from harm. Ever the hero, huh, Barry?”

“You've hurt enough people.” 

“I know. You see me as the villain, but, Barry, if you were to look back, look back carefully at everything I've done, every wheel I have set in motion, you would realize I have only done what I had to do. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

“And the Particle Accelerator? How does that fit into your grand plan?”

“Well, why don't you go on inside, and let me show you. You know, I just learned the hard way not to trust the bad guy.” 

“And yet... I've shown you time and time again you can't beat me, Barry.”

There was an exhaust like boom and Firestorm landed. “Oh, you brought a friend.” 

Along with an arrow sailing through the air and Oliver landed next to Barry on the other side. “Welcome, Mr. Queen.” 

“Hope we're not too late.” 

“You're just in time. I don't care how fast you are. You can't fight all three of us at the same time.” 

“FOUR!” Grace said and landed next to her brother. 

“Ahh...Gaia. The girl who has discovered she can fly faster than us speedsters.” 

She glared at him and looked at her brother. “This started with us, Barry and as we know it ends with us.” She looked at Thawne. “There’s one thing you never ever anticipated, you arrogant Jackass.” 

“What’s that?” 

“You can’t outrun us, not when we work together.” 

“Oh, I can't? Trust me. This... This is gonna be fun.” 

Grace looked at Oliver and Ronnie. “Remember the plan?” 

“Yep,” they said in unison. 

She pushed into the air while Barry and Thawne fought. Oliver shot him with an arrow full of nanonites. And Firestorm fired at him and Grace froze him at his feet. She landed on the ground. He stopped vibrating and she walked up to him and punched hard. “That’s for my mother you insufferable asshole.” He came back up and she hit him again. “That’s for sending my father to Jail!” He came back up, she punched him again. “That’s for making us trust you!” 

“I think you broke his nose,” Ronnie said. 

She smirked. “He’s a speedster. They heal fast.” 

Oliver got in there and began fighting Thawne himself. He shook the nanonites out of his system and Barry tackled him before he could kill Oliver. However as Barry raced around with him, Ronnie and Oliver implemented the rest of the plan and this time they got him. 

Reverse-Flash has been caught! 

“Grace.” 

She tapped her earpiece. “Yes?” 

“Carter’s awake.” 

She sighed in relief. “Thank God.” She looked at Barry. “Carter’s gonna be okay.” 

He smiled. “Good. Then we have two things to celebrate tonight.” 

Oliver looked at Barry. “I might need a favor from you.” 

“Whenever, wherever.” 

He nodded and both men left. Grace sighed. “Arms or legs?”

**********

They dropped him into a cell in the pipeline and Barry closed it. He sighed. She sighed too and put her hands on her hips. She smiled. “We got him, Barry. We really got him.”

He wrapped her in a hug. “Yeah. We did.” He kissed her hair. “Go get changed and go check on your boyfriend.”

She smiled and nodded. She walked out of the accelerator room and headed to go get changed. She changed back into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She ran a hand through her chocolate waves and then walked into the medbay. She smiled and walked up to him. She kissed him deeply. 

He smiled. “Hi, baby.”

“Hi,” she whispered. She crawled into the bed beside him. She wrapped one arm around him and sighed. “God, Carter, I thought I lost you.”

He smiled and kissed her head. “That’s why I gave you the anti-virus I made up.”

She straddled him and looked him in the eyes. “No, I’m serious. I really truly thought you were going to die.”

He looked into her eyes and he really saw the fear there. “Oh, Baby, no,” he murmured. He kissed her again and then held her.

They laid there for a couple of hours before Grace said, “Let’s go home.” She looked into his eyes. 

He smiled and kissed her softly. “I love it when you say that.”

She smiled and climbed off of him.

* * *

They got to the loft and walked inside like they always did, hand-in-hand. They took the elevator to the loft. He unlocked the door and pushed it open and he lifted her in his arms, bridal style. He smiled at her. “Gotta practice for when I do this for real.”

She laughed and put her arms around his neck. He dropped his keys on the side table and climbed the stairs with her still in his arms. He put her on the floor and she bunched up the t-shirt she had put on at the lab and pulled it over her head. “If we do this...then that’s it. No more dancing around each other or anything. We’re together. Boyfriend-girlfriend...lovers. All of it.” She looked into his eyes. “Which means we go on this trip as a couple.” She sighed. “I’ve always wanted to be yours...and only yours.”

Music to his ears. He bent his head and their lips connected almost instantly. His lips were warm and sweet on hers. She quivered at the sweetness of his kiss. She had never been kissed like this....as if she mattered. And she knew with Carter she did. How she loved that.

Desperately seeking to deepen the kiss, to really know what it felt like to kiss him, she whimpered, opening her mouth slightly. Taking the invitation he knew she was giving, he swept his tongue inside to caress the walls of her delicious mouth. The taste of her was addictive and oh, so sweet at the same time. 

Their tongues danced together in a silent melody, that was so sweet that they both moaned. Grace knew she'd forever remember this moment in her life. She would remember the sound of the waves, the smell of the air, the feel of his arms around her and this kiss, this kiss would forever be seared into her brain.

After what seemed to be forever, Carter reluctantly pulled away, breathless and wanting to do it again as he watched her eyes flutter and seeing the clouds of desire in her eyes. She looked at him. “Make me forget,” she said softly. “Make love to me, Carter.” 

Their lips never left each other’s as she helped him pull his shirt from his waistband. He untied his tie and tossed it to the floor. She pulled her mouth from his and asked, panting. “How many of these do you have?” 

“Doesn’t matter,” he said and popped the buttons off. She pushed it off his arms and he wrapped his arms around her. He sighed. “I never thought I’d be here right now.” 

“Me neither,” she said and turned him to sit on the bed. She stepped off the bed and unbuttoned her jeans, pushing them down past her hips. 

His heart thudded in time to the butterflies in his stomach. He really never thought he’d be here right now. To see the girl that he’d been fantasizing about since they were old enough to be into the opposite sex standing before him in her bra and matching panties was far beyond than his fantasies ever took it. He stood himself and pulled his shoes off. He unbuttoned his pants and let them fall to his feet, pulling his feet out he walked to her. “God, you look amazing just like this.”

She hummed as she kissed him. “You too.” 

He backed himself against the bed and sat down. She straddled him. “Kiss me.” 

He took her mouth in a ravaging kiss that made her whimper as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her to him and deepened the kiss. He wrapped one hand, fingers and all into the mass of curls as he pulled her closer. He brushed his tongue across her bottom lip to get her to open her mouth. She sighed and he swept his tongue inside. She moved her hands to his chest and moaned into his mouth. She pulled back enough to look down into his smokey green eyes. She stopped and traced her fingers along his face for a moment, savoring the moment she was in. She sighed. “I love you.” 

He took her mouth again and she hummed as he deepened the kiss almost instantly. “I love you,” he said softly. 

She stopped and looked into his lust filled eyes. She smiled and kissed him. “I love you too. More than anything the world.” She grunted when her fingertips brushed his abs and she felt his heat and the definition of muscles. “Mmm….I think I’m going to like having you naked more than clothed.” 

He laughed into her mouth before kissing her thoroughly. “I’m already there.” Feeling her touching him sent him to the brink. He reluctantly tore his mouth from hers and his cock hardened when he heard her whimper. She leaned into him, pressing him further into the couch, deepening the kiss. Her entire body was on fire! How in the hell did he do it? How did he heat her from the inside out like this? 

He took her neck in a savage exploration of nips, love bites and kisses. "Oh, God...." she whispered. "Just don't leave a hickey.” 

He laughed. “Why not?” 

She moaned as he licked up the chord in her neck. “Oh, God...Carter….” he nipped at her throat. 

He smiled devilishly as he curled his arm around her waist and flipped her on her back, laying her back against the pillows. He smiled as he heard her squeal in delight. He leaned down and dipped his mouth to take hers in the gentlest of kisses that made her heart soar. “I love you,” he whispered before he took her mouth again, this time more softly. 

“I love you,” she moaned as he kissed her neck again. She moaned and deepened the kiss. She had no idea what it was about him but whenever she got around him she couldn't seem to think straight. Not when all she wanted was him naked and making her come with each thrust of his incredible hips. She pressed her body into his, she had to feel him against her....badly. It was almost as strong as breathing. 

He broke the kiss and almost came unglued when she whimpered. He began kissing down her chin, her neck. He continued his blaze of hot kisses down her body and felt himself get harder and the need get stronger with each of her moans. 

He broke the kiss and rose up to his knees. He hooked his thumbs into her panties and gently pulled them down her legs. He dropped them to the floor and caressed her legs as if they were created by God himself and he was admiring the perfection of them. He caressed her inner thigh and she gasped, “Carter….” 

He smiled. “Sit up,” he commanded hoarsely. 

She sat up and put her hands behind her back and unsnapped her bra. He watched the perfect globes fall into place. He moaned and she could have sworn she came by hearing it. She tucked her hand behind his head and took his mouth passionately as she laid back against the pillows. He dipped his head down to take one of her very hard and erect nipples into his mouth. 

"Oh, God...." she cried out as she felt the heat of his mouth on her skin, suckling her nipple into submission. The man was seriously going to kill her. She felt him stop and move to her other one and she was lost. There was no way she could be even more turned on than this moment. 

She could feel the familiar ball of warmth that formed in her belly, which was a definite indication that she was very much almost there. "Baby, please...." 

He stopped the assault on her perfect breasts and leaned back on his feet as he positioned himself between her legs. He spread her apart and smiled when he saw her glistening with need for him. He caressed her with a couple of swift touches of his fingers against her inner thigh again, this time close to her heat. 

Her orgasm was instant and earth-shattering. Was it possible for someone to implode? “Oh, my God….” she panted coming down from it. “That has….never….ever….hap….happened...b-b-before…” 

He laughed softly and kissed her. “Glad to hear it.” He slowly dipped his finger inside of her. 

"Holy fuck!" she said as she felt the first aftershock beginning when he slipped his finger inside of her. "How do you do that?" she asked, not really expecting an answer. 

Adding another, and finding her center, he curled his fingers, finding her G-spot. He angled his hand and found her clit with his thumb. She moaned. “Oh...fuck!” She fisted her hands into the comforter and cried out, which was actually more of a scream as he drew circles with his thumb and pulled in and out with his fingers. She bowed as she felt the sensational pleasure of his fingers playing with her g-spot. 

Watching her had to be the most erotic thing he had ever witnessed in his life. He was absolutely sure his balls were now blue with holding back. He knew he couldn't do much more of that or he was for sure going to break something. He smiled satisfyingly as another, much larger orgasm overtook her and she screamed again. He slowed the flicking as she came down from the orgasm. 

"Oh....my....God....." she panted. 

Without giving her time to come completely down from her orgasm he slammed hard into her and she screamed, “Oh, my, God! Carter!” Fire bolts of desire raging through her as white light shot through the back of her eyes. She couldn't remember ever feeling something so right as the feel of him filling her, stretching her. She groaned with satisfaction.

He waited for her body to adjust before he started moving, first slowly and then faster. She moaned arching her body into his. He was bigger than the men she’d been with before. Way bigger, not that was a problem. She gripped his shoulders as he whispered into her hair, "Damn.” 

He could feel it building and building inside of him all day and to have her seducing him had totally done him in. He couldn't have stopped now if he wanted to. He kissed her, arching his body into hers as she arched hers upwards. He pushed deeper into her and laid forward. His hips pistoned deeper and deeper into her until he was for sure soul to soul. Hearing her small gasps, groans and little whimpers kept pushing him into an erotic rhythm. 

She wrapped her arms tightly around him as she felt his movements urge her higher and higher. With each thrust of his body, she responded with both a thrust of her own and tremor. Coherent thought had been lost somewhere between the g-spot orgasm and this glorious feeling she was experiencing now. "Harder, Carter...." 

Hearing her plea, he deepened his thrust and went harder. At that moment all that was heard was grunts, pants, the thumping of the bed hitting the wall and the erotic sound of their bodies coming together repeatedly. Feeling his orgasm clawing at him like a cat, he whispered into her ear, "Come with me, Baby. Come with me." 

Feeling the whisper against her ear, sent her sensitive skin into overdrive and she felt her entire body tighten as a full body orgasm took her. She screamed his name as she felt him stiffen, grunt and felt the glorious feeling of him releasing inside of her. She felt the aftershock shivers raging through her like a hurricane and she held tightly as she spiraled down from her own orgasm. 

Carter collapsed against her as he tried to even his breathing. Never had he felt completely surrendered to a woman before. But for Grace Allen, he’d do anything. “That was amazing,” he mouthed into her skin. 

She was still breathing heavily as she said, “Absolutely. The hottest sexual experience of my life….and I’m not just saying that.” She took his face in her hands and kissed him. She caressed her fingers down his cheek. “I love you, Carter.” She could actually feel her heart swell with the emotion. “I have never meant those words more. Never have I ever felt it more than with you.” 

He smiled down into her face. He kissed her softly and she gasped when she felt him harden again. She looked into his eyes, her own blown wide. “Again?” 

He laughed softly as he said, “Yep.” And he rolled onto his back, taking her with him. “But this time you’re gonna ride me.” 

She moaned and kissed his lips. “I’ve never been very good at that,” she admitted. 

“Who says? Josh?” 

She nodded. “And the other one.” 

He sat up and kissed her. “Well, let’s see for ourselves. Maybe it was just them.”

She sat up and adjusted. She looked down at him and said doubtfully, “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”


	30. Fast Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eobard gives Barry an opportunity he can't pass up...or can he?
> 
> Team Flash has one more chance to get the Reverse-Flash once and for all...a member of the team makes the ultimate sacrifice.

Curled into Grace’s back, Carter jerked slightly when he heard a phone ring. He moaned softly and padded around for the offending device. He picked it up and answered, “Hello?”

“Hmm...I guess I better get used to you answering my sister’s phone, huh?”

“Something like that,” he muttered. He kissed Grace’s shoulder. “Baby?”

“Mmm,” she hummed. “What…?”

“Phone’s for you. It’s your brother.”

She grunted and took the phone from him. “This had better be good.”

“It is. Oliver’s calling in his favor.”

She looked at the clock. “Barry, it’s midnight.”

“And our friend needs our help.”

She took a deep breath and released it. “Okay. Fine. See you in five.”

“What’s going on?”

“Oliver’s calling in his favor for our help.” She rolled over and kissed him deeply. “I have to go to Nanda Parbat. Wherever the hell that is?”

“South China Sea,” he murmured.

She smiled and kissed him again. “Okay. You rest up. I may want to go round three when I get home.”

He let her think she was leaving and then pulled her back down gently. He kissed her. “Be careful. I love you.”

“I promise and I love you too.”

* * *

**-Nanda Parbat….**

The members of Team Arrow were trying to understand their part in the double or triple cross that Oliver and Malcolm Merlyn had planned this entire time. 

“Assuming this is all some part of a brilliant double double cross or triple cross-- I'm losing count-- your master plan still has one major flaw, since we're still chained in a dungeon,” Felicity reminded him. 

“Patience, Miss Smoak. All we have to do is wait.”

“Wait for what?” Laurel snapped out.

He smirked. “The thunder…”

* * *

The Flash and Gaia raced and flew into the temple of the League of Assassins. They freed Oliver’s friend from the guards and then took out the guards. Gaia tied them up and Flash was distracted by the Pit. “You guys have a hot tub? Nice.”

She rolled her eyes. “Flash focus. We gotta find the dungeons in this place.”

He nodded. “Right.” He sped off and she followed.

* * *

“Hi, you guys! Wow! I mean, this is like a real dungeon!” Flash said excitedly. 

“Barry! Grace!”

“Thank you, Felicity. You just outed our secret identities to a supervillain.” He looked at Merlyn. “No offense.” 

“None taken. Now get us out of here!”

“All right, uh, stand back.” He looked at Grace. “Take it away, Kiddo.”

She smiled and walked up to the iron bars. She wrapped her hands around them and then kicked at them. Merlyn rolled his eyes. “That’s not going to…”

The door came out and she dropped it on the ground. Merlyn stared at it. “...work.”

She smirked. “Thank me later.”

“How’d you do that?!” Laurel asked.

“I control all the Earth’s elements. Iron is the fourth most common element found in the Earth, so…”

Laurel nodded. “Right.”

“How many assassins, do you figure?” Dig asked as they entered the Weapons’ room where their stuff was located. 

The siblings exchanged a look. “Uh, none.” 

“None,” Grace said at the same time. 

“They're all taking a little nappy time.” 

Felicity looked at them both. “Thank you.” She grabbed at Grace. “Both of you. And not to be greedy, but we could really use your help on this whole Starling City super virus thing.” 

“And you know we would, but we are overdue for a very pointed conversation with Harrison Wells.”

“And I have to get back to my boyfriend.” She smiled. “Kinda left him waiting for me...in bed.”

Felicity winced. “Ooh. Sorry.”

She shook her head. “Don’t be. He knew the favor was coming.” 

Barry looked at everyone. “Besides, I'm sure Oliver's got this.” 

“I wouldn't count on it,” Dig said. 

“Oliver hasn't been very forthcoming with his plans lately,” Laurel told them. 

“Well, I don't know what's been going on with him lately, apart from a recent wardrobe change, but one thing that hasn't changed is, he needs you guys. Even if he doesn't think so. Good luck.”

Grace stopped. “By the way, the invitation to call whenever you need to talk extends to you too.” She smiled. “Us women in this Band of Heroes need to stick together.”

Laurel smiled. “Thanks, Grace.”

She nodded. “You’re welcome.” 

* * *

Grace sighed as she stretched, the morning sun shining into the room. She smiled as flashes of last night went through her mind. They had made love about 3 times last night. The 3rd time was when she got back from Nanda Parbat.

She had never felt this good before. It was like she was insatiable to Carter and he to her. She had never been that way with anyone else. Was it their friendship? Their connection? Or both? And would it last forever? She knew relationships took work, but she hoped this feeling lasted. She felt his arms go around her and she smiled. “Morning.”

He kissed her neck. “Morning,” he murmured. “Waking up next to you will never, ever get old.”

She laughed softly. “Yeah. Say that when we’ve spent fifty years together and I’ve nagged you about your blood pressure pills.”

He laughed. “I could see that.”

She rolled to face him and smiled at him. “What me nagging you?”

He nodded. “But you know I don’t see it as nagging, Sweetheart.” He put an arm around her and kissed her deeply. “I love you.”

She sighed softly. “I love you.” She looked at the clock on his side and sighed. “I gotta get moving. Barry promised he wouldn’t interrogate RF until I got there.” She kissed his lips and began sitting up. She started walking into the bathroom when she stopped. “Coming?”

He smiled and chased her in there. The bathroom echoed with the sound of her bubbly squeal. 

* * *

Carter and Grace walked into STAR Labs, hand in hand, Caitlin smiled at her friend. “Morning. Barry’s waiting for you at the entrance to the pipeline.” She looked her up and down. She took in the khaki shorts, white tank, brown cardigan and the wedged heeled sandals. She smiled. “Getting excited for your trip?”

She smiled and nodded. She kissed him goodbye and went to meet her brother. She walked up the ramp and tapped him on the back. “So, what kind of bullshit is he feeding you?”

“Nothing except that he wants Big Belly Burger because in his time apparently there are no cows.”

“Well, that sucks for the milk supply.”

“Not sure where to start... Thawne. That is your real name... Eobard Thawne.” 

“Since the day I was born.” 

“And when was that?” 

“136 years from now. That's not what you want to know. Go ahead, Barry. Ask it.”

Barry opened his mouth to ask, but Grace asked as she walked to him. “Why did you kill our mother?”

“Because I hate your brother. Not your brother now. You years from now.”

“In the future.”

“In a future. Yes. We're enemies, rivals, opposites, reverses of one another.” 

“Why? Wh-why were we enemies?”

“It doesn't matter. It doesn't... matter anymore. What matters is that neither of us was strong enough to defeat the other. Until I learned your secret. I learned your name. Barry Allen. And finally, I knew how to defeat you once and for all. Travel back in time, kill you as a child. Wipe you from the face of the earth. But then you, future you, that is, followed me back, and we fought. We both landed some pretty solid shots. And then you, future you, got your younger self out of there. I was so mad. But then I thought... what if you were to suffer a tragedy? What if you were to suffer something so horrible, so traumatic that your child self could never recover? Then you would not become The Flash. And so I stabbed your mother in the heart, and I was free. Finally able to return to a future without The Flash, only to realize that in traveling back I'd lost my way home. Lost my ability to harness the speed force. And without it, I was stuck here. Stranded in this time, unable to return to my own. And the only way back was The Flash. But The Flash was gone, and so I created him.”

“Why train me? Why help me save so many people?”

“Because I needed you to get fast. Fast enough to rupture the space-time barrier and create a stable wormhole through which I could return home.”

“Why would I ever do that?”

“Because…Barry Allen, if you give me what I want, I'm gonna give you what you want.”

“And what the hell is that?” Grace asked putting her hands on her hips.

“You can go back and save your mother. You can prevent your father from going to prison. You can reunite the Allen family.”

“No. No, I don't believe you. I want to kill you right now.”

“I know that rage. I used to feel that rage every time I looked upon you. And now, somehow, I know what Joe and Henry feel when they look on you with pride. With love.”

“No,” Grace said. “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to act like--”

“No. No. Don't you ever say that to me!”

“I know you're upset, but I'm giving you a chance. I'm giving you a chance to undo all the evil I've done. Don't you want that chance?”

They walked out. Grace looked at her brother. “You’re thinking about it.”

“Come on, Gracie, it’s a chance to see mom again.”

“I don’t want to see mom. Well, I do, but still...we don’t need to, do we?”

* * *

Barry told everyone what Wells said, but it was Stein who spoke. “The rare opportunity to go back in time and right a wrong and save your mother's life... quite the paradox Harrison has presented you with, Mr. Allen.”

“The chance to be with someone you love? Seems pretty cut and dry to me.”

“At first blush, Dr. Snow, it would appear so, but this gift has unparalleled risk. Barry, the night your mother died, the night you saved yourself from being killed, that event altered the timeline you were already on and changed the course of history.”

“So what you're saying is we're living in a parallel universe?”

“Just like when I time traveled before.”

“But he... he only changed one day that time.”

“Exactly. Now imagine 15 years of compounded experiences. One different decision, no matter how big or small, impacts everything that follows. Moments upon moments, choices upon choices. No relationships, nothing would be as it is today, and you'd never know the difference because you'd never remember any of it.”

Grace looked at her brother. She couldn’t believe it. He was considering it.

“So if I go back and save our mom, our dad doesn't go to prison. We never live with Joe and Iris.”

“You might never meet me. Or Caitlin or Ronnie.”

“Truth is, there's no real way of knowing what your life will be.”

“There's no choice here, Barry. You have to do this. You gotta change the past.”

Barry exchanged a look with Grace. And they both walked into the room. Grace was actually curious why he was insistent.

“Joe? So what... what, that's it? You think I should just do it?”

“Yeah, I do. “Which means I will never come to live with you, and... you're okay with that? Barry, you get the chance to grow up with both parents. You don't have to grow up without a mother.”

“What about growing up without a father?”

“You will have a father... your real father. Wells has messed with our lives long enough. This is why you became The Flash, Barry. To put things right. You saved a lot of people's lives this past year. Now it's time to save yours.”

Grace’s mind was reeling. “No.”

“What?”

“I said no,” Grace said. “This isn’t just your decision, Barry.”

“Grace, listen, I--”

“This isn’t just your decision, Barry. That night changed my life too. I lost my mother and my father just like you did. But you’re not the only one that should make the decision.”

“Grace--”

“No, Barry! We may have lost mama and daddy, but we gained something too that night. At least I did,” she said. She licked her lips as she tried to not burst out crying. “I got a sister...and a second dad. I don’t even remember what mom and dad were like as parents, Barry.” She shrugged. “So, I don’t think it would really matter to me anyway if I got them back.” She shook her head. “That’s not to say I don’t miss them every single day because I do. I loved mom. More than anything. I love daddy, but you can’t ask me to give up what I gained from that night too. But go ahead and do what you’re gonna do. Sounds like to me that you and Joe have it all figured it out as it is,” she said and walked off.

“Grace…..”

* * *

Barry went to go see their dad. “Dad, look. I know this sounds crazy.”

“I think we're way past crazy, slugger. Look, you're fast, I get it. But turning back time…”

“No, I wouldn't be turning time back. I would be... going back to that night to save her.”

“And what does Joe think about all this?”

“He thinks I should do it.”

“What about your sister?”

He dropped his eyes to the table. Henry sighed. “Bartholomew Henry Allen. You didn’t even consider what your sister would be gaining or losing in all this did you?”

“Dad, we’d be a family again. I thought she’d want that.”

He sighed. “No, Barry, that’s what you want. You need to consider your sister in this too. Her entire world changed just like ours. Why don’t you ask why she doesn’t want what you want.”

“She told me.”

“What did she say?”

“That it wasn’t because she didn’t love you and mom, but because I’d be asking her to give up what she gained that night.”

Henry smiled. “I bet if you asked her, and really sat down and listened she’d tell you the other reason. The real reason she doesn’t want anything to change.” He looked at his son. “No. You can't.”

“Dad... I can make it so that night will never have happened. We'll be a family again.”

“We are a family.”

“Not like this. Not without Mom.”

“Barry, there's a natural order to things, okay? Things happen the way they do. We may not know why at the time, but there must always be a reason. Now, I believe that. I've had to believe it.”

“I... I can save Mom.”

At what cost? You said time would change. What if it changes you?”

“I don't care. I do. I am in awe of the remarkable man that you are becoming... all the things you've achieved, and not just as The Flash, but you, Barry. Your honesty. Your heart. You were always a hero. And your mom would be just as proud. And if she had a say in this, if she thought for one second that you going back to save her would mean you losing what makes you so special, she would never want that.” Barry started crying.

“Barry, what I hope for you, maybe the greatest thing that a father can hope for his son is that one day, you will become a father yourself. And then you will know...how much I truly love you and your sister. You two have been the light in my life I never knew I was missing until you were here.”

* * *

Grace walked up the grass to her mother’s grave and went to her knees. She sighed. “Oh, mommy...” Her eyes seemed to have immediately filled as she looked at the etched name on the gravestone. She reached forward and traced the name on the stone. She took a gasping breath. “God, mommy, everything seems to be falling apart. Barry and I figured out who killed you and why. He’s given us an opportunity to go back and change it all, but I don’t know if I trust him for one and I don’t know if I want to take the risk of everything in my life changing.” Her chin quivered as she tried to keep the sob inside. “My life is good now.” She exhaled. “You were right. I have finally found people who accept me. Not the beautiful blue eyed me but _**me**_. Brain and all and I don’t want to go back and change any of that. I have friends...and Carter and I are finally together. What if when he goes back and changes it all I lose everything I’ve gained, mama. I don’t know if I could deal with that.” She sighed. “It’s not that I don’t miss you...or daddy. If you only knew _**ho**_ _ **w**_...”

She stopped to try and catch her breath as the sob overtook her. “... _ **much**_ I miss you. You were supposed to be there so I could tell you about my first crush...my first kiss...” unshed tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision and choking her voice. “When he finally told me he loves me as much as I have always loved him...” this time she began crying as she said, “You were supposed to be here when I got married and when I had my first baby...” The sob shook her entire body. “You were supposed to be here for all of it.” She took her a breath to try and stop the tears, but her voice choked again. “There is going to be...a hole...in my heart forever where...you should be, but I hope you understand why I can’t let Barry do what Thawne has suggested.” She reached for the gravestone. “You’ll always be my mom and I love you, but I also love everyone else in my life too and I have no idea what I would have done without them in it.” She kissed her hand and pressed it to her mother’s name. “I love you, Mommy...forever and always.”

She subconsciously reached for the pendant that hung around her neck as she stood and headed out of the cemetery. It was the necklace that Barry got her for her 16th birthday. She looked down at the pendant in fingers and ran her thumb over the word brother. How could he even think after everything she gained in the last 15 years that she’d ever want to go back? Go back to what? When she was non-existent to her big brother? When the one person she wanted to have see her as more than his annoying little sister didn’t want anything to do with her, especially when his best friend was round?

No thank you.

As she walked she subconsciously ended up at the waterfront bridge. She stopped and put her hands, palms down on the railing. She looked out on the water and sighed. Why couldn’t he understand that the way she felt had nothing to do with mom and dad and everything to do with her not wanting to lose everything she’s gained in that time?

“There you are.”

She looked over her shoulder and Barry saw the watery eyes, the red rims and the tear stained face. “Yep.”

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

She shook her head indifferently. “It didn’t seem like you needed me around to make the decision that would change our lives, Barry. So….I’m here thinking.”

He walked to the railing of the waterfront walking bridge. He leaned on it. “What about?”

“My life…..mom, daddy...Joe...Iris...you...us.”

“Us?”

Her chin quivered with unshed tears filling her eyes as she said, “Yeah, us.”

“What about us?”

“That night changed us, Barry.” She lifted her matching blue eyes to her big brother.

“I know it did, Gracie.”

“No, you don’t...or maybe you don’t care. But it changed how you looked at me.”

“What?”

“I became important to you.”

“Grace, you’ve always been important to me.”

“No I haven’t!” she yelled. “Not really. I became important in a way I had always hoped to, not just ‘your sister’. I became your best friend. You’ve always been my hero...since I could remember. But that night… (sob) “....I wasn’t just...your annoying little sister. The one who was ‘too smart for her own good’.” She gave a watery laugh when she saw the shocked look on his face. “Didn’t think I heard you and Iris say that about me, did you?”

She sighed. “Why do you think Carter and I became so close from the age of four to right before mom died?” She exhaled. “Because to you, I was just your shadow. An annoying pest.” She exhaled. “That night….not only did I gain a sister and another dad, but I gained a brother. One who actually saw me and I love--”

“Grace, we’ll always--”

“You don’t know that!” she exclaimed. “You just don’t know that!” She spun and looked at her best friend. “We finally were the brother and sister I had dreamed about being, Barry and now you want to tear that all away from me, why?” She gave her brother a measured look. “You have no idea at all if we’d get closer as we got older.” She sighed. “I don’t want to lose you, Barry. You mean the world to me. The relationship we have means everything to me.” She sighed. “I just didn’t know it didn’t mean anything to you.”

“Grace, don’t do that.” He took her by the arms and tried to get her to look him in the eyes, but she wouldn’t. “It does. You mean everything to me--”

“If that was true even for a second you wouldn’t have to change anything.” Knowing there wasn’t anyone around she pushed herself into the air.

“GRACE!”

* * *

Grace walked into the prison and got a visitor’s pass. She walked to the stool where she sat behind glass to see her father. She just prayed that he wouldn’t be disappointed in her for not wanting Barry to do this. She smiled when she saw him. She picked up the phone receiver and said, “Hi, Daddy.”

“Hi, Baby Girl. What’s up?”

“Me and Barry are fighting,” she said simply.

“About what that guy that killed your mom offered him?”

She nodded as the tears splashed over. “Yes...” she whispered. “Daddy, you have to know that I would do anything... _ **anything**_ to get you out of here. That I would do anything to have mommy with us, but I can’t.” She looked into his eyes and whispered, “You understand that, right?”

He nodded. “Of course, Sweetheart.”

“I may have lost you and mommy that night, but I gained something too. I gained Joe...and Iris...and one of the people I cherish the most in the world...Barry.” She lifted her eyes to her dad’s again. “I mean, hell, it made me and Carter closer and I believe if I hadn’t gone through all that then he and I wouldn’t be where we are right now.”

“Where’s that?”

“We’re together,” she told him, smiling. “It’s official. Me and Carter Stephens are finally an item.”

He laughed happily. “Yes!” he exclaimed. “Finally!”

She laughed and wiped her tears away. “So you’re not mad that I’m sticking up for nothing changing?”

He shook his head. “No...of course not, Baby. You’ve always been an amazingly strong and courageous young woman and I admire that about you. Sounds like to me you came to terms with everything that happened and that the reasons for you to go into what you did do not apply anymore.” He pressed a hand to the glass and she did the same so they were palm to palm. “Do me a favor, Gracie? Stop living your life for me and your mom. Start living your life for you.” He smiled. “Do what you want to do, marry Carter, have babies and live happily ever after. All the while using that big, strong brain of yours and be the problem solver you always wanted to be.”

He smiled. “Just promise me that from today onward you’re going to live _**your**_ _life._ The way you want to. With whom you want to live it with.”

She smiled. “I promise, daddy.”

* * *

Barry was standing on the CCPN roof looking out into the skyrise.

“Thought I might find you here.”

“I needed to get out of the lab.” He sighed. “I thought this would be a good place to think.”

“Oh, it is. Trust me. I've done a lot of thinking up here. When I wasn't having clandestine meetings with the mysterious "streak’.”

“Yeah, not mad we lost that name.”

“Hey, I thought that had pizzazz.”

They both laugh again.

“No.”

“Uh-uh.” She looked at him. “So are you gonna do it? It's just so...huge. It's the biggest decision of my life, and if I'm wrong, I can't undo it.”

“Why would you want to? I mean, you'd get to see your mom again, your dad, have a great career, even get married. Iris West-Allen, huh? I never really thought of myself as a hyphenator. Must be a 2024 thing.”

“We don't know that that's going to happen.”

“Do you think that because you didn't live with us, that's why things are different there?”

“Growing up together and... knowing so much about each other... it made it hard for me to admit how I felt about you. And I waited too long, and you fell in love with Eddie. But living with you and Joe... I've had a great life, Iris.”

“Come here, Barry.” They hug.

“My sister’s mad at me.”

She nodded. “Dad told me that.” She sniffled. “Did you find out why?”

He nodded. “Because she thinks she’ll lose me.”

“How? You’re her brother.”

“That’s the thing. To Grace, I wasn’t.” He sighed. “Do you remember that day when I vented to you about her how annoying she was and how sometimes I wish she had never been born and that we both agreed that she was too smart for her own good?”

She nodded.

“She heard us,” he admitted. “She told me...just now. And I could tell it hurt her feelings, Iris. It really did.”

“We were kids, Barry.”

“It doesn’t matter. She’s my little sister.” He sighed. “She thinks if I change the last fifteen years that I’ll go back to being that way toward her and I’m not exactly sure if she’d be wrong.” He sighed. The pain was evident in his eyes. “She’s one of the most important people in my life, Iris. I would do anything for her. I can’t lose her.” He looked into her eyes. “What do you think I should do? I need someone to tell me.”

“I think... that for once in your life, Barry Allen, you should stop thinking about other people. I think you should do what's in your heart. Do what you need to do for yourself.”

He sighed. “Do you realize I hadn’t even thought of Grace about any of this?” That night changed her entire world too and yet, I didn’t even think about what she wanted. I never thought to ask her. I just thought she’d want the same thing.”

“Doesn’t she?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. To her, she gained three things that night. You, Joe and...me. She doesn’t want to go back and change all that.”

* * *

Grace exhaled as she stood at the computers, leaning up against the curvature of the table partition. She listened to everyone go on and on about Barry’s decision to do this. He was actually going to change that night, despite knowing how she felt about it. Did it even matter? She was beginning to think that her opinion never mattered. Didn’t the last 15 years of their friendship mean anything to him?

“According to Wells' calculations, Barry super-speeds inside the accelerator ring. Once Barry reaches optimum speed, we then launch a hydrogen proton into the accelerator. Once the collision happens, a wormhole forms, opening a gateway into time itself. It's at that moment I plan on shouting something along the lines of "Eureka" or possibly "Excelsior." I'm uncommitted.”

“What do you think?”

Cisco sighed. “I mean, on the one hand, it does make a kind of sense. On the other hand, why? Why, why would you ever consider doing this?”

“You know why.”

“So, for this to actually work, how fast would Barry have to go?” Caitlin asked.

“By my estimates, Mach Two at a minimum.”

Carter’s jaw dropped. He looked at Barry. “You can’t be serious…?”

“You've never gone that fast,” Caitlin muttered.

“So what happens if Barry doesn't reach that speed? I mean, I'm imagining a bug hitting a windshield. How far off am I?” Joe asked.

“Not very far, I'm afraid.”

“Let me worry about how fast I have to go,” Barry assured them.

“Because obviously, you’re not worrying about anything else,” she said bitterly.

“Gracie...” Barry muttered.

The tears she’d been holding in spilled over and she shook her head. “No, Barry...d-d-don’t...”

“We're gonna need something else too,” Barry said to Cisco.

She sniffled.

Cisco looked at Grace and then at Barry. “Really? And what's that? 'Cause I don't know about you guys, but I'm not at all interested in helping you get yourself killed.”

“I need you to build a time machine.”

“Go on,” he muttered, intrigued.

Grace threw up her hands and shook her head. “Un-fucking-believable!” She sighed. “I’m not going to be here for this.” She tugged on the necklace that had been around her neck for 7 years and tossed it on the floor at him. “You may need that. I probably won’t.” She exhaled. She turned her watery blue eyes to Joe, her chin quivering as she tried to keep in her devastation. She took off the locket around her neck too. “Here. Take that too,” she said and tossed it to the floor.

“Grace--”

“No, Barry, don’t.” She looked at Joe and then back at her brother. “Obviously, I’ve missed something when y’all forgot to ask me how I felt about all this.” She wiped her eyes. “They were my parents too, damn it! Mine!” she screamed. “Nowhere does it say that I don’t have a say in my own damn life or what happens in it!” She stormed to her brother. “You had no right to make this decision without me!” She pushed at his shoulders in frustration.

Cisco stood and Ronnie started for them, but Carter stopped them. “Don’t. This has nothing to do with us. It was their trauma. Let them sort it out.”

She stormed toward the entrance to the Cortex, but stopped. She looked at Joe. “Thanks for having my back...dad, I appreciate it.”

“Grace, that’s not fair.”

“Fair?!” she screamed. “You wanna talk about fair? How fair do you think it will be to rip my entire world from me again, huh!?!” She looked all around and looked at both Joe and Barry. “I like my life _**now**_ _ **!**_ I like the people _in_ it.” She glanced at Cisco, Caitlin, Ronnie and Stein. “Not that after everything that happened should it surprise me that no one thought of me.” She looked at Carter and it hit her then. If her brother was to go through with this what she and Carter have right now wouldn’t be, because there was no guarantees that they would admit their feelings to each other. And the thought of that got her sobbing again. “I _**love**_ the people I was _**sharing**_ it with.” She looked at her brother. It didn’t matter what she thought. He was still going to do it. So what if she liked her life. Too bad if she finally had the man of her dreams. None of it mattered. “You know the part that kills me even to this day?”

He shook his head.

“That you hated me so much,” she almost whispered. “That you wished that mom and dad got a dog instead of having me. I know I was annoying. I know I followed you everywhere, but you never bothered to ask why. You just got mad.” She looked into his eyes, tears streaming down her face. “But please, go make your life easier for yourself, but don’t you dare ask me later why we were never close.” This time she stormed out.

Carter shot everyone a glare and chased after her. He caught up to her in the parking lot before she could fly off. He wrapped his arms around her and she collapsed in that moment and started sobbing. It was a wailing sob and he went to the ground with her. He held her in his arms.

After a few minutes, she cleared the lump from her throat and spoke, “I’m gonna lose you. I-I-I j-ju-ju-just got you and n-n-now I’m gonna lose you.”

That’s when her words hit him too. It was everything that happened this year that pushed them together. What would push them together now? With that thought, he wrapped his arms around her tighter. He had nothing to lose now. So what if she knew where he saw them going. It wouldn’t matter now. “I love you, Gracie. With every fiber of my being I love you.” He looked into her eyes as he said, “I wanted a life with you. Forever with you. You’re my one true love.”

She looked into his eyes. “I love you too, Carter. More than I will ever express. I always wanted to be with someone I could say was my best friend and my husband.” She touched one of his pectoral muscles and whispered, “I knew it was going to be you when you kissed me at Moonlight Point and every part of my body reacted.” She took his face in her hands. “You were my forever too. My everything, my sanctuary against all of this and how crazy it all could get.” She sighed. “I wanted to tell you this when we hit New Orleans. Staying in that B and B there...”

He wrapped his arms around her as she cried.

* * *

Stein turned and stopped when he saw Eddie sitting at the computer he needed. “I'm sorry, but I'm told this is the only station with enough power to run these calculations. If we make the slightest error creating the wormhole...”

“Say no more. Joe told me to stick around in case I was needed, but it seems I'm only in the way.”

“Everyone has a contribution to make. Perhaps you just haven't discovered yours yet.”

“No, Dr. Wells made it pretty clear when he told me about the future. I don't matter. As far as history's concerned, I don't save the day or get the girl.”

“And you believed him?”

“He had a newspaper from the year 2024.”

“And I have a mug that says "World's Best Boss." I doubt my teaching assistant would testify to its authenticity.”

He looked at him a little confused. Stein smiled. “We're dealing with a lot of big scientific ideas today. But you, Mr. Thawne, might be the most interesting thing here at S.T.A.R. Labs.”

“Me?”

“What are the odds that Dr. Wells would travel back in time and get stuck in the exact same city as his great-great-great- great-grandfather? Working in the same profession, the same building? And that part of his plan to get home would mean that he'd have to preserve and protect your life.” He pointed at him as he drove his point home. “That makes you this rare thing that no scientist can plan for.”

“Which is?”

“Coincidence. There is no science to coincidence. You, sir, are an anomaly. A wild card, as it were. You are the only person in this whole story who gets to choose his own future. At least, that's my opinion.”

“I told him the future newspaper was a probability but your explanation is good to.”

Stein smiled at the beautiful woman with the tear-stained cheeks. “Grace, hello.”

She smiled. “Hi, Dr. Stein.”

“However, Miss Allen is right too. Your future hasn’t been written yet.” He smiled at the younger man. “Her mind is bright, Dr. Stephens. Cultivate it.”

“That was the plan,” he murmured wrapping his arms around her. He kissed her cheek.”

The computer beeped and Stein turned. “Wait, that can't be right. Oh, dear.”

“What is it?” Grace asked walking to the computer. She saw the screen and saw what stopped the Professor cold. “Oh, God...” she looked at Carter. “Come on.”

They rushed after the Professor as he rushed into Cisco’s lab. “We have a problem.”

“Like _**huge**_ ,” Carter emphasized.

“What?”

“The calculations. There is a danger.”

“I know. I'm ready to take the risk.”

“It’s not just about you, Barry,” Grace told him.

“Miss Allen is right. This isn’t just about you, but to everyone. Wells didn't tell us everything. Barry, even if you do reach the right speed, colliding with the hydrogen particle, there is a chance that explosion could create a singularity.”

“What's a singularity?” Caitlin asked.

“A black hole,” Carter and Grace said in unison with Cisco.

“It's a black hole,” Cisco said.

“We could destroy Central City,” Barry said. The reality of it settling in.

“For starters. If we create a singularity here and then cannot control it, we could be looking at a global catastrophe.”

“So long and thanks for all the fish,” Cisco muttered.

* * *

“Well, sure, there's a bit of a risk.”

“A bit?!” Carter and Grace said in unison.

Grace shook her head, laughing in disbelief. “You’re fucking unbelievable.”

“I agree with Grace. I would hardly refer to possibly causing an extinction-level event as "a bit of a risk."”

“Yeah, and your accelerator's been about as reliable as the beater I drove in high school.”

He laughed. “Let me ask you a question. How many meta-humans... how many dangers... have we faced this year together? Or did you forget that was me fighting alongside each and every one of you? I have been planning this for almost two decades. It will work.”

“So, just like the Particle Accelerator’s risk, you never planned on telling us about this did you?” Grace shrugged. “What the hell do you care as long as you get your cowardly ass home.” She sighed in frustration.

“And how do we make sure we don't open a black hole in the middle of Central City?” Cisco snarked.

“So, once the wormhole stabilizes, Barry will have 1 minute and 52 seconds to alter the past and return to this time,” Thawne told them.

“Oh, is that all?” Grace said sarcastically.

Thawne smiled. “Ahh, there’s that sarcasm that you are so known for, Grace.” Thawne looked at everyone else. “If and when he does that, you can close the wormhole, and we can all live happily ever after. Almost two minutes. More than enough time to save Nora.”

“But not enough time to stop you from going home?”

“Everything's a choice.”

“Oh, you can’t tell me that wasn’t planned.”

“And what if I'm late?”

“You won't be. I believe in you, Barry. Always have. So I guess the question is, do your friends and family believe in you as much as I do?”

Caitlin quickly clicked the screen off and they looked at Barry. Joe and Grace followed Barry into the treadmill room. Carter came with them. Barry started laughing. “So, if I don't run fast enough to collide with the particle, then I'm dust, and if I do run fast enough but I'm not back here in time, then a black hole will form, swallow up the city and possibly the world. You're sure you still want to look me in the eyes and tell me this is for the best?”

Joe nervously played with his wedding band. “I'd be lying if I told you I did. Truth is, I don't... I don't know what to think.”

“I thought you were the sure one. I... was kind of banking on that when I made my decision the first time.”

“I was faking it. Sometimes parents do that. Most of the time, parents do that.”

Grace walked up to Joe and put her arm through his and put her head on his shoulder. “Look, of course I'm scared. But I didn't want you to not help your mother because you were worried about me.”

“Dad...” Grace said.

“Well, I'll always worry about you, Joe, just like you'll always worry about me. Sorry, but you can't stop that. Do you think I can do this? You think I can save my mom? I mean, do you think I'm fast enough?”

“Yes,” Carter, Grace and Joe said in unison.

“I know you are,” Joe added.

“You know, I've... I've dreamed my whole life about... saving her, freeing my dad, and... I never thought I'd have to lose another parent to do that.”

“Oh, Barry.”

“Barry...” Joe said tears welling up in his eyes.

“Joe, it's true. It's true.” He sniffled. “Grace is right. I've always been so focused on everything that I lost that night, but I gained so much too. I was born with one father, and that tragedy gave me... another. And I don't think I can lose you.”

“You won't ever lose me. Ever, you hear me? Ever.”

Grace knelt down in front of him. “As much as I love to hear I’m right I didn’t want to be right about this, Barry. I didn’t want you to have to make a choice like this.” She looked into his blue eyes. “You’re my big brother. I never want you to have to choose like this.” She sighed. “But if you want my honest opinion, not sure it matters, but...don’t do it. It’s way too risky, B.”

He smiled and kissed her forehead. “I love you. I know we say that all the time, but please remember, whatever happens...you’ve always mattered. And I love you more than I will ever be able to express in words. True at eleven I didn’t show it much and I am _**so sorry**_ you ever heard me tell Iris that. You shouldn’t have had to hear that.” He caressed her cheek lovingly. “But I don’t think that, Gracie. I think you’re the best thing that happened to me...at least until I have my own kids.” He kissed her cheek. “And I am so glad that you’re feeling confident enough to bring the girl I grew up with back out. You have no idea how much I missed the sassy comebacks and the know-it-all facts.” He smiled. “But most of all I’ve missed you.”

She laughed and hugged him. “I love you, BB.”

There was a knock on the door and Caitlin peeked her head in. “Hey, Grace.”

“Yeah, Cait?”

“Would you do me a favor and come with me to see if my original wedding dress fits?”

“Wedding dress?” she asked.

Caitlin nodded. “Ronnie thinks we’ve waited long enough.”

Grace stood. She walked to Carter and kissed him long and deep. She looked into his eyes. “Always remember...you’re my rock.” She kissed him again. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

Grace looked at Caitlin. “Let’s go.

* * *

Everyone gathered in the park, awaiting the bride to arrive. Carter stood with Grace in his arms. A newly reunited Iris and Eddie were hand in and hand waiting also. While Barry and Joe stood nearby. They watched Caitlin approach and Grace smiled. Carter put his chin on her shoulder as they listened to Stein preside over the wedding. She tilted her head up. “Just a thought, don’t get freaked out, but what do you think of a winter wedding?” she whispered.

“That could work,” he whispered. “Nothing huge, agreed?”

She shook her head. “Just our family, friends and fellow teammates—and I’m including all the teams for that.”

He nodded. “Agreed.”

She tilted her head up and he kissed her as Caitlin said, “I don't need one. I have everything and everyone that I could ever need right here. And... if all the events of the past year have led us to this moment, it was worth it. I love you, Ronnie.”

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

“Stop telling me what to do,” Ronnie teased and kissed Caitlin.

Grace smiled and clapped her hands as Iris jumped up happily.

* * *

Everyone was saying goodbye to him. Grace—dressed in her suit, just in case-- wasn’t entirely sure she wanted a goodbye, but if this was what Barry wanted then she’d do it. She walked up to her brother and kissed his cheek. “I know you won’t remember this, but I love you. And I really and truly hope you find what is that you want, Big Brother.”

He nodded. “I love you too, Kiddo.” He kissed her forehead. “So much.”

She hugged him again. “Goodbye.”

“See you later,” he whispered and kissed her hair.

They watched him go into the pipeline and Grace took Carter’s hand. They walked back up to the Cortex and observed. They got Thawne into the time machine. Joe, Grace, Carter, and Cisco watched as he lifted off. As he was about to be lifted into the wormhole, Barry burst through and broke the time machine. The force of it sent, Joe, Cisco, Grace, and Carter flying too. Grace picked herself up as Carter did the same. “Barry? Wha…?”

“You didn't save her. Why?” Wells yelled. “Why? You could have had the life you wanted. You could have had everything you ever wanted!”

He stands, looks at Grace and then at Wells. “I already do.”

“Not for long.” he said and lunged toward Barry.

Grace flew into the air and fought alongside her brother like she has been doing. Reverse-Flash slammed Grace hard into the wall and she was out of commission for a moment while he fought Barry. When a shot rang out, Grace turned to see, Eddie with a gunshot wound in his chest and falling into the floor. “EDDIE!” she screamed and crawled to the man. “Eddie, no!”

Joe and Grace got to him at the same time. “Eddie, no!”

“What did you do? What did you do? What did you do?” Joe demanded.

“No such thing as a coincidence,” Eddie wheezed.

“What's happening?” Barry asked as he took Carter’s hand to be pulled to his feet.

“Eddie's his ancestor. If Eddie dies, he'll never be born, and...he's being erased from existence.”

Grace looked down into his face. “Why would you do that?”

“No! No! Eddie.” She knelt down beside him. “Eddie, no, no. Stay with me, okay? Stay.” She began to cry.

“He was wrong, it turns out. I'm a hero after all.”

“You are, Eddie. You are my hero.”

“That's all I ever wanted to be. Your hero.”

They watched as the last bit of life drained from Eddie.

“No!”

“Oh, God…” Grace said before she started to cry herself.

They watched as Eobard disintegrated. Grace exhaled shakily. A bright blue light caught her attention and she looked at everyone else. It began to build strength. “What the hell is that?”

“Guys, that's not good,” Cisco said.

“Professor, I shut down the wormhole. What's happening?” Caitlin asked.

“I don't know. You did close it, but it seems to be reopening.”

“We got to go,” Ronnie told Caitlin before they ran.

“Iris, we have to go,” Barry told her.

“I'm not leaving him.”

“We have to go now, honey. I'm sorry.”

Grace took Carter’s hand and he ran for the door too. They all got outside.

“So that's what we didn't want to happen.”

“What's it doing?”

“Feeding. A singularity won't stop, not even after the earth is gone.”

Barry decides that he has to try and stop it. He put his hood up and felt a hand go around his wrist. He looked and Grace said, “You’re not doing it alone.”

“I can’t let you, Gracie, I’m sorry.”

“Barry! I can fly faster than you can run!”

“But how are you going to create all of what is needed to stop this?”

She sighed. She hugged him. “Come home, okay? Please.”

“I promise.”

They watched as he gained speed going upwards….

On the ground, the rest of the team watched as Barry ran higher...and higher...and higher. Ronnie looked around watching buildings, vehicles and people being sucked into the pull of the hole. “We gotta do something!” he yelled over the roar of the Black Hole.

“Like what?!” Carter yelled. This felt really weird. Kinda like his body was slowly down or something.

Ronnie turned to Grace. “Could you slow it down?”

“I control the Earth’s elements. I can control the weather not cosmic phenomenon! I wouldn’t even know where to begin.” She sighed. “And messing with the Earth’s magnetic pull could bring on a whole new set of problems.”

“Like what?” Iris asked.

“I could cause environmental disasters,” she informed them. “Cause tidal waves, tsunamis.”

“Brilliant! He's contained the Singularity by adding to its angular momentum!” The Professor exclaimed happily.

“Barry, it's stabilizing. Keep doing what you're doing!” Cisco told him into his phone.

“I'm not sure how much longer I can. Cisco!”

“Now what?”

Grace walked over to Cisco and tilted his hand down. “Barry! You can do this! I believe in you!”

Ronnie looked at everyone. “What’s that gonna do?”

Carter smiled. “Their love, trust and belief in each other can move mountains.”

“You’re doing so good. I’m so proud of you, Big Brother. I love you.” She handed it back to Cisco and walked back over to Carter and the Professor. “We’re gonna have to come up with a plan. As much as I believe he can do anything with the right encouragement, he’s gonna be slowing down.”

“She’s right,” Carter said. He swayed into Grace.

She held onto him. “You okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Something was going on with him.

“We have to merge the inner and outer event horizons,” the Professor said to them. 

“How do we do that?” Ronnie asked.

“By separating in the eye of it. The amount of energy from the fissure should do the trick.”

Ronnie looked at Caitlin and they exchanged a look.

“It's our only hope, Ronald.”

“Ronnie, no! It's too dangerous. What if you can't escape the inrush?”

“Cait, we have to try.” They kissed.

Carter took Grace’s hand as she held onto Caitlin’s as Ronnie and the Professor merged.

From down below they watched as Firestorm flew into the air and got into the eye of the Black Hole. They turned off the device and they separated. One of them falling. Grace gasped, she turned into Carter’s chest as she held Caitlin’s hand. However, he seemed to sway into her and it felt like she was holding him up. “Carter, honey?”

He shook his head as Barry raced by. “There’s your brother.”

She looked at her boyfriend and he shook his head again.

Barry quickly stood. They ran to where Barry and Professor Stein was. “Ronald... Ronald...” Stein said weakly.

Barry shook his head. He turned to Caitlin and held out his arms. “I'm so sorry,” he said before wrapping his arms around her as she sobbed.

“Gracie...” Carter murmured before he collapsed into her.

“Carter!” she screamed. “Carter! No!”

Joe and Cisco both rushed to him. She held him in his arms as he seemed to have lost consciousness.


End file.
